A Long Overdue Confession
by writetress
Summary: AU. What if Ginny Weasley had made a different decision? Not to give up on Harry Potter but to confess to him her long  obvious  crush on him face to face? Harry's fifth year would certainly be different.
1. Straight From the Hippogriff's Mouth

_A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic (though I've written in other fandoms), I first posted this on SIYE and I'm trying to work on the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it! :)_

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><p>Disclaimer: <em>I do <strong>not<strong> own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I'm just a Harry/Ginny shipper._

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><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**_ONE_**

_Straight From the Hippogriff's Mouth_

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><p>Ginny watched as Harry's eyes lingered on Cho Chang as she left the room of requirement with her friend, his gaze then reluctantly looked away from the doors she had disappeared through. She knew how it felt when you couldn't take your eyes off of someone, she had watched Harry leave many rooms through the years but had he ever watched her leave a room—no, she very much doubted that. Harry chatted with Ron and Hermione and then said he wanted to check something out and would catch up with them soon.<p>

"Don't take too long Harry, remember _curfew_!" said Hermione over her shoulder and then walked with Ron towards the doors.

"Great first lesson mate!" Ron called out, he and Hermione then noticed her standing by the entrance.

"Hello, Ginny!" said Hermione. "Are you coming?"

Ginny glanced over to where Harry was standing thumbing through a book. "No, I wanted to ask Harry a question."

Hermione glanced over at Harry then she glanced at Ginny her eyebrows knitting together. Ginny could practically see the wheels turning around in her head as her eyes lit up as they always did when she was trying to figure something out. "_Okay_," she said slowly, a curious smile twitching on her lips. "But remember—"

"_Curfew_," said Ron interrupting her, rolling his eyes. "Yes, we _know_ Hermione you've said it enough already," he then turned his gaze sharply to his sister. "What do you need to ask Harry? He doesn't need you pestering him Ginny!"

Ginny glared at him then her lips twitched upward into an innocent smile. "Ron?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"

"Would you like me to Bat-Bogey hex you now or sometime later as a lovely wakeup call?"

Ron took a step back. "You wouldn't," he shook his head giving a nervous chuckle. "You can't enter the boys' dormitory there's an enchantment."

Ginny shook her head still smiling innocently. "There's an enchantment on the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory, but there's no such enchantment on the boys' dormitory, dear brother."

Ron's eyes widened then he turned to Hermione. "Is that _true_?" he choked out.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, as stated in Hogwarts: A History the founders of Hogwarts believed girls to be more trustworthy than boys so they never put an enchantment on the boys' dormitory."

"So girls can just come and leave the boys' dormitory wherever they please?" said Ron flabbergasted.

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way but yes," she paused. "I came up there once to get you and Harry, remember?"

"But that's not _fair_!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione's eyes hardened as her lips tightened together. "You know what's not _fair_? How people treat house-elves! It is simply unjust and barbaric how they treat those poor creatures who kill themselves doing their whims—"

Ron put his hands up in the air. "Oh, not this _again_, Hermione!" he groaned, quickly making his way towards the door trying to get away from her. They both instantly forgot about Ginny as they left the room of requirements in another lover's quarrel of theirs.

Ginny turned her attention back to Harry and started slowly approaching him. As she did she couldn't help but remember the first time she had ever saw him when he shyly approached her family asking how to get on platform nine and three quarters. That boy had changed a lot through the years, no longer was he a scrawny boy with his shirt falling off his shoulder, he was a very fit boy with beautiful unruly hair. His eyes were still that same heart pounding shade of green but they had changed as well. Though they still lit up after a quidditch game or glistened when he smiled, they held more pain in them and at times looked haunted with worries no teenage mind should have to dwell upon.

But some things in that boy looking for platform nine and three quarters had never changed. His modestly, his generosity, his saving people complex and his never-ending obliviousness at his ability to produce somersaulting Cornish pixies in her stomach every single time she saw him.

She had made a decision to finally put something out in the open that would certainly _change_ things between them, if only for a moment or maybe even longer. She didn't know if this change would make him acknowledge her as more of an individual than just Ron's baby sister or just completely alienate him—most likely it would be the latter. But she couldn't take it anymore, she refused to be the girl blushing running out of the room! She had worked hard to get herself to talk around him finally and _talk_ she would. She wanted to move forward and possibly develop a deeper friendship with him like Ron and Hermione. She knew it was _very_ slim that he would want to pursuit a romantic relationship with her, no matter how much she wanted it. But she would never be able to do either if she didn't get rid of the unspoken pink hippogriff in the room.

Oh, she _knew_ he knew about it, but he had never seemed to really acknowledge it and it was not _fair_ she _had_ to acknowledge it every single day! She knew it was no secret, she hadn't been subtle at hiding it, everyone knew. Bloody hell, probably even the Minister for Magic knew—no scratch that—he didn't know anything he was lost in his imaginary Voldemort free world.

Harry had probably heard about it from her brothers as they joked around, or in an insult made by Malfoy or by girls gossiping in the corridors. She took a deep breath as she now stood by him. It was about time he heard it from the hippogriff's mouth.

He didn't seem to notice her as he continued thumbing through a book about defensive spells. Well, she was tired of not being noticed by him. "_Hem, hem_."

Harry immediately tensed up, his hands gripping the book tightly, his eyes snapped up to her face and quickly relaxed at seeing her. He sighed in relief, his shoulders loosening as he let out a small chuckle. "Oh, Ginny it's just you," he shook his head. "You're _really_ good at that," he glanced down at the book in his hands. "Did you need something?" he smiled at her. "You know, you did really well with the _Expelliarmus_ spell today."

Ginny just stared at him being left temporary speechless by his smile. Stupid oblivious prat always being nice and helpful. It was his fault she felt this way.

Harry glanced at his watch. "You know, we both should be heading towards the Common Room," he took a step to put the book away," we can just talk while we walk and—"

"_No_," she said standing her ground. "I want to talk to you _alone_."

Harry halted not taking another step with the book still in his hand. He seemed taken aback for a moment by her forwardness. "O-okay," he said uncertain, then his eyebrows started knitting together as he stared at her in concern. "Ginny, is anything _wrong_? Because you know you can tell me, whatever it is."

And tell him, she did.

"_Harry, I fancy you_."

The book fell out of his hand making a loud _thump_ as it hit the floor. If she didn't have his attention before she certainly had it now. He just stared at her, in fact it was the longest he'd ever looked at her—unfortunately it was in shock and not in the lovesick manner she often dreamed about—she surprised herself by not looking away and keeping her blushing to a minimum under that beautiful green gobsmacked stare.

Finally, Harry blinked and continued blinking several times and then he opened his mouth and closed it wordlessly, he seemed to be having a hard time forming words but then he managed to utter, "_W-what?"_

Ginny straightened her shoulders trying to keep a grip on her Gryffindor courage. "I know this isn't a newsflash to you, those gits who call themselves my brothers made sure of that."

"Well, yes…they've mentioned…how you had…," he reached behind sheepishly rubbing his neck,"…how you had…err…a c-crush…but I um….,"he trailed off as he lost some color in his face. "_Blimey_."

The boy could face dementors, a dragon, a basilisk, Tom Riddle, even teach a classroom full of teenagers but he looked terrified of a girl confessing to him. Oh, why did that have to make him even more adorable to her?

Ginny started fidgeting slightly. "Yes, well that's all I wanted to say," she paused. "So would you like to go out on a date?" she gasped, her eyes widening as her brain caught up with her mouth. She did _not_ just say that. She looked at Harry to see him in a newfound state of shock staring back at her with wide eyes. Oh, yes, yes she _did _just say that. _Great Merlin's socks_!

Harry blinked. "I…um…yes?" he blurted out looking wholly confused.

"_Okay, well I'll talk to you later! I have to go, bye!_" she said in a rush and speed walked towards the stone doors. Once she was out in the hallway she quickly made her way to a secret spot she knew of that was near Gryffindor Tower.

"_Silencio_," she mumbled with a flick of her wand and then promptly screamed. "I just asked out Harry Potter! I just asked out _freakin'_ Harry Potter! The boy I've fancied forever! What is _wrong_ with me? What possessed me to ask him out on a _date_? That wasn't part of my decision at all! I just wanted to finally tell him from my own mouth that I fancy him to get it off my chest, which I did…but that other part wasn't part of my plan!" she slid to the ground against the wall, burying her face in her hands. "I know he doesn't fancy me, he fancies Cho Chang…..." she trailed off as she felt a twinge in her heart.

But then suddenly her head snapped up, her eyebrows knitting together as she recalled what he had said before she had left the room in a rush. "Wait a minute….did he say _yes_?"

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><p>Harry walked out of the room of requirements in a stunned trance, only vaguely aware of his surroundings as his feet made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room out of habit. He didn't really notice people giving him strange looks, or the people that said hi to him as they hurried towards their common rooms or even Malfoy making a crude remark at him and continuing to insult him as he became infuriated at how he was ignoring him.<p>

"_Password_?"

Harry blinked shaking his head, he looked up finally noticing the portrait of the Fat Lady as she arched an eyebrow at him. "Huh, what?" he uttered.

The Fat Lady looked down at him. "You've been standing there for a whole minute just staring off into space, deary. You're cutting your curfew close. Are you getting over the effects of a _Stupefy_ spell or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," he mumbled.

"Password," repeated the Fat Lady.

"Ginny—," he shook his head, blinking as his cheeks turned slightly pink,"—I..I mean _ginger nut_!"

The Fat Lady giggled as she swung open to grant him entrance. "Have a lady friend on the brain?" she asked.

"You have no idea," he groaned as he walked through the portal into the Gryffindor Common Room. He didn't say anything when Ron and Hermione greeted him asking him what took him so long, he just plopped down in his usual spot.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a curious look. "What's up with you mate?" Ron said trying to get his attention. "You look like someone just bludgered you."

"Your sister just asked me out on a date," Harry blurted out in disbelief.

Ron's eyes widened to the size of galleons. "_W-what_?" he choked out. He got closer to Harry studying his face to see his wasn't kidding. "_Bloody hell_, she's gone mental!"

"Ron, language!" said Hermione as she sat in a chair peeking over her book for once looking more interested in something else than reading. "So what did you say, Harry?"

Ron turned his head to her sharply. "He said _no_, of course!" he turned back to Harry looking unsure of his own declaration. "You did say no, right mate?"

Harry just stared off, not saying anything immediately as he tried to recall what he had said. His eyebrows started knitting together. "I…I think I said…yes?"

"_What_? You said _yes_!" Ron choked out.

"You said _yes_!" Hermione cried out excitedly putting down her book in her lap.

Harry's eyes widened as the full truth of his words finally hit him. "_I said yes_!" he choked out.

Ron stuck his hands in his hair making it stand up. "What were you _thinking_?"

"That's just it, I wasn't _thinking_!" Harry retorted. "I thought she had a question about today's lesson, not that she was going to confess that…confess that…I was just _completely_ taken off guard, _okay_? So I blurted out yes before I could even think about what I was saying!"

"Well, I think it's great that you're going on a date, whether you meant to or not," said Hermione stating her opinion.

"Wait a minute Hermione," Ron said pointing to Harry," Harry's not _actually _going on a date with my sister. He didn't even mean to say _yes_!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ron. "Well, that would be awfully _rude_. A gentleman does not go back on his word and Harry is a gentleman," she turned her gaze to Harry as if daring him to say otherwise," _aren't_ you Harry?"

"I..um..I guess," Harry stuttered.

Hermione turned back to Ron. "Honestly Ron what could one date hurt, it's not like he's going to marry her."

Harry choked out a cough while Ron made a disgusted face. "_Eww_…Hermione don't put bad images into my mind."

"Ron, Ginny maybe your sister but she's not Harry's," she turned to Harry with a smile. "I bet he finds Ginny to be very pretty."

Harry's eyes widened as he stared at Hermione dumbfounded. "I…um…I don't know," he shook his head," I mean she's nice looking…but I don't fancy her…I don't even really know her that well—"

Hermione snapped her book shut. "_Excatly_, you don't know Ginny very well, so how do you know that you don't fancy her?"

Harry started fidgeting. "Well…um…I fancy well," he looked down lowering his voice," you know _Cho Chang_."

"And yet you don't know her at all either besides the fact that she's the Ravenclaw seeker," Hermione said, then looked at Harry with somewhat of a motherly gaze. "Listen Harry, I want things to work out between you and Cho if you really fancy her and she fancies you back, but maybe there's a better girl out there for you," her gaze changed as it turned sharply to Ron," _someone_ you've overlooked, _someone_ who still doesn't understand why she fancies such an obnoxious prat who doesn't even notice what she does for him or how she feels although she's practically been standing right in front of him for _years_!"

Ron raised an eyebrow at her. "Um….Hermione, what you going on about?"

Hermione suddenly stood up from her seat holding her book close to her chest. "Something you obviously wouldn't understand, _Ronald_!" she snapped then hurried off in a huff towards the girls' dormitory.

Ron and Harry stared off dumbfounded by her outburst.

"Mental, every single one of them," said Ron in bewilderment. He then let out a yawn. "Well, I'm tired going hit the bed, are you coming Harry?"

"Yeah, I just want to sit down here for a minute," said Harry.

Ron patted Harry on the shoulder. "Don't worry mate, we'll get this whole mess straighten out tomorrow," he said then when up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

Harry sat in the Gryffindor Common Room alone just staring into the fire.

Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister who had just begun to talk in front of him had just told him she fancied him. Oh, of course he knew about it, her…her…_crush_ on him. He remembered Ron mentioning it and it was kind of obvious with the whole butter dish incident among other things. But he never really paid that much attention to it. It was something he had put in the back of his mind but now it was front and center—it was all he could think about.

He couldn't believe that Ron's sister who had spend most of her time around him mute, had just flat-out said that she fancied him. He had noticed somewhat that she acted less shy, but since _when_ had she become so blunt?

Harry buried his face into his hands letting out a groan.

He couldn't believe she had just asked him out on a date—and that he had _apparently _said yes.

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><p><em>AN: Please review! Thank you, writetress_


	2. The Unexpected Arrangement

_Disclaimer:_ _I do __**not **__own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does._

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><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**_TWO_**

_The Unexpected Arrangement_

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><p>Harry blinked as he took in his slightly askew world, he looked out the corner of his eye to see the armrest of his favorite armchair and slowly raised his head up from it. "<em>Oww<em>," he hissed out. It seemed his glasses had left an indention on his nose as they were pressed up against it in his sleep. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked around and realized he was in the Common Room.

"Did I fall asleep?" he said aloud to himself. He glanced down at his watch to see it was midnight. "What am I doing down here?" he sat in contemplation for a moment trying to remember what had happened today and then his back straightened and his eyes grew wide as everything came rushing back to him.

"_Ginny,"_ he breathed.

She had confessed to him that she fancied him and on top of _that _had asked him out on a date, which he in his dumbfounded state had said yes to. He had stayed down in the Common Room to try to figure out what he should do. And he still had no idea what to do!

"Somehow I feel like facing another Horntail dragon would actually be easier than this," he sighed rubbing his temples.

He got up from the armchair about to head up to boys' dormitory when something in the fireplace caught his eye. He rubbed his eyes and readjusted his glasses wondering if he was seeing things. It couldn't possibly be? Just then the fire took shape, wavering and crackling as it filled in the contours of a face and the fire came alive in the orbs of this face as they twinkled back at him.

Harry's eyes widened. "_Sirius!"_ he hissed.

"Oh, Harry I was hoping you'd be up late," said Sirius smiling making the fire crackle.

Harry scurried over kneeling down on the hearthrug. "_What are you doing here!"_ he said angrily, clenching his jaw. "_Umbridge_—

"I said it before Harry, no hag like Umbridge is going to order me around."

Harry's hands dug into the hearthrug clenching it. "I'm _serious_ she could—"

"No you're not, I'm _Sirius_," he said still being forever the jokester.

Harry exhaled roughly through his nostrils. "She almost got you last time," he looked down, his gaze burning into the hearthrug," what if she takes you away?" his voice faltered. "What if we're separated again?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Harry," said Sirius his voice lacking its previous lightheartedness. "I've already missed out on years of your life, so stop _sulking _and tell your godfather what's been happening. How's that defense group going? Any progress finding a place?"

Harry didn't speak immediately but then the excitement of sharing the news with his godfather took hold of him. "Yeah, we found a place inside Hogwarts and it's _perfect_ Sirius! It's a magical room that's hidden away," he paused. "And…," he unconsciously raised up his head a little in pride," and _I'm_ teaching them Sirius."

"You…you're _teaching_ them Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Sirius chuckled. "Well, I'll be. Your parents would be very proud of you Harry, I know I am."

Harry's face lit up as a smile erupted across his face. "It's amazing Sirius, they actually listen to me and I really feel like I'm making a difference." He paused then let out a laugh. "Oh, and you'll never guess what we decided to call ourselves," he paused," _Dumbledore's Army_."

Sirius chuckled. "Dumbledore's Army?" he arched an eyebrow. "Did you come up with that, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "Cho suggested The Defense Association but it was Gi—," he suddenly cut off going quiet as his eyes grew wide.

"Harry?" Sirius asked uncertain. "What is it?"

"_Nothing_," said Harry quickly.

"Nothing doesn't make you look like someone just petrified you."

Harry looked down and then hesitantly started speaking. "Something _else_ happened today," he paused for what seemed like days. "A girl asked me out on a date."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, that doesn't surprise me you do have your father's looks and your mother's eyes, a very lethal combination. So who's the lucky lady?"

Harry continued looking down as he played with some fuzz on the hearthrug. "It's…it's Ginny…Ginny _Weasley_…Ron's sister."

Sirius stayed perfectly silent for a moment and then busted out laughing making embers spring forth into the air.

Harry's head snapped up. "Sirius, it's not _funny_!" he said through clenched teeth. "_Be quiet, someone is going to hear you_," he whispered furiously.

Sirius soon calmed himself lowering his voice. "Oh, oh I haven't laughed that hard in ages." He sighed then raised an eyebrow. "So she asked you out, did she? I actually had a feeling she fancied you, _that_ and something Molly mentioned, but I didn't really realize you fancied her back."

"I don't! I mean she's a nice person and all, but I just don't fancy her. She asked me out when I was thrown off my guard and I kind of said yes by accident and now I don't know what to do!"

Only a few _pops_ and _crackles_ of the fire answered him back as Sirius just stared at him and then he said," _Uh-huh._"

Harry's eyebrows knitted together. "_What_? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this Harry, but you're _doomed_," said Sirius smiling mischievously. "Potters have never stood a chance against redheads."

He tilted his head blinking. "What is that suppose to _mean_?"

"I think I'll let you figure that out for yourself," Sirius said then paused as he thought for a moment. "So you're unsure about this date and don't know what to do? I seem to remember a lady I knew that was also unsure about going on a date with someone and was afraid she was going to regret it, but turns out she had a great time."

"Who?" asked Harry.

"Your mother."

Harry jerked his head back in surprise. "My…my _mum_?"

"Yeah she was unsure about going out with your father but turns out it was best decision she ever made."

Harry went eerily quiet, his eyes going unfocused. "_Was it?_" he whispered. "She's not _here_ anymore."

"Hey, _hey_ she got you out of it, didn't she? And also the love of your father, I doubt she ever regretted making that decision."

Harry sighed running his hand through his hair.

"Harry, everyone's unsure about dating but look at it this way," said Sirius. "Could it be a complete disaster? Yes, and that's too bad but it isn't going to kill you. But could it be wonderful and fun? Yes, and if you don't take a chance you might miss out on finding someone you really enjoy spending time with."

"But I don't want to lead her on," said Harry, his shoulders slumping forward. "I don't feel that way about her."

"Then don't lead her on, just be up front with her," said Sirius. "Listen I have to go, I won't be showing up a lot, I just wanted to talk to you one more time. Please take care of yourself. And Harry?"

Harry leaned forward looking at him closely. "Yeah?"

"Go get them lady killer," and with a wink he was gone.

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><p>Ginny woke up the next day feeling lighter, although she couldn't quite explain why. It felt as if something had been weighting on her chest for years, constricting her, but now seemed to have vanished. She got up from bed and started going through her daily routine of getting ready and then headed down to the Gryffindor Common Room.<p>

As she descended the stairs she noticed Hermione at the bottom looking straight up at her, she didn't particularly like the way Hermione was smiling at her; she looked like she had just found out all the books at Flourish and Blotts were fifty percent off.

Ginny eyed her as she reached the bottom. "Hello, Hermione," she said with some uncertainty.

"Why didn't you tell me were planning on doing _that_?" Hermione exclaimed gripping her book to her chest with anticipation. "I know we had discussed about you acting more like yourself around him, but _this_ is something entirely different."

"What is different?" Ginny asked in her confusion.

Hermione just stared at her, eyeing her with a look that said, as if you don't know. After Ginny continued staring at her in puzzlement, she sighed, "_You_ asking _Harry_ on a _date_."

And then at that moment it was as if someone had released her from an obliviate charm. "_Bloody_…," she mumbled her voice trailing off in shock.

"So when did you decide that you were—," Hermione trailed off as she noticed that Ginny wasn't paying attention to her. "You don't look very happy for someone that has a date with their long time crush."

Ginny glanced around seeing if Harry or her brother were around as they often seemed to be in the same vicinity of Hermione, especially around the time assignments were due. Once she saw that they weren't she looked back to Hermione, letting out a sigh. "I'm not a fool Hermione, I know Harry didn't mean to say yes," she paused thinking," knowing him he probably said yes in shock or even politeness and is now regretting it."

"Yes, but—," Hermione said but was quickly cut off.

"I don't want to be a consolation prize," Ginny stated. "When I told Harry that I fancied him, I did that for _myself, _I didn't do it hoping he'd suddenly return my feelings," she shrugged her shoulders. "I admit I may have gotten a _little_ caught up in my bout of confidence and asked him out but I'm not going to hold him to it. If Harry wants to keep our date, then he'll come to me."

Hermione stood in silence, then her lips curved upward into a smug little smile as an all knowing look that often occupied her stare, came into her eyes.

Ginny eyed her. "What's that look for?"

Hermione just continued smiling and situated her book higher into her arms. "You will see."

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><p>Ginny walked down the corridors heading towards the Great Hall for breakfast as she tried to figure out what Hermione had meant; Hermione herself had gone to the library to return a book before she headed down to breakfast.<p>

Ginny almost halted completely when she spotted Harry standing ahead talking to Cho Chang. She watched him as he looked at Cho with a mooncalf expression, his eyes bright and his smile bashful yet dashing. She started to walk normally again down the corridor. She could walk past them, it was everyone's corridor, just because they were standing there to the side talking didn't mean she had to turn around and go in a different direction. He probably wouldn't even notice her walking on by, being as he was occupied with the girl he always noticed, the girl that _wasn't _her. But as she continued walking getting closer to them, she suddenly found those bright green eyes looking directly at her.

Harry's face had suddenly lost that mooncalf look as he caught sight of her over Cho Chang's shoulder; she heard a gasp hitch in his throat and watched as he blanched. Ginny suddenly found herself wishing that she was once again invisible to his notice. "H-hey, Ginny," he choked out, looking anxiously at her.

Cho Chang turned to her left looking behind her to see who Harry was talking to.

Ginny quickly plastered a pleasant smile on her face. "Hello, Harry," she nodded towards Cho," Hello, Cho." She would have just continued walking past them if Cho hadn't stopped her with her voice.

"Hey, you're that girl that told me and Marietta about the meeting and came up with that other meaning for the D.A., right?" said Cho Chang looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm Ginny Weasley," said Ginny.

Cho slightly raised one of her eyebrows. "You're the Tornado-hater's sister?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, that would be me, the Tornado-hater's sister."

"Oh," Cho nodded, then her eyes looked between Ginny and Harry as if trying to figure something out.

Ginny just stood there wondering if the conversation was over. She looked to Harry just imagining what he must be thinking, for there he stood with the girl he fancied _and_ the girl that fancied him for years and had recently confessed to him. One word could sum up the atmosphere—_awkward._

"Well, I'm really hungry so I'm just going to head to the Great Hall!" Ginny exclaimed then gave a wave and walked off down the corridor. She let out a breath as she finally passed them and also found she had just lost her appetite.

"_Hello, Ginny_," she heard the far-off and dreamy voice that could only belong to one person.

Ginny glanced behind her shoulder to see Luna Lovegood; she slowed down her pace so Luna could catch up with her. "Hello, Luna," Ginny greeted her.

Luna gave her a little whimsical smile. "You said hello back, that was nice of you."

Ginny glanced at her and then smiled. Luna Lovegood was definitely odd, but she had a good heart and Ginny found she liked her the more she got to know her. "Well, yeah of course, we're friends."

Luna's ever surprised eyes popped open even further. "Oh, that's very nice to know," she raised her hand up tucking some strands of her blonde hair behind the wand situated behind her ear then she pointed behind her. "Cho Chang likes Harry, you know."

Ginny sighed and nodded.

"But not as much as you like Harry," Luna pointed out, then glanced at her. "Did you mark your territory?" she asked casually as if asking about the weather.

Ginny blinked, turning sharply to her. "My…_what_?"

"Your territory on Harry," Luna elaborated then glanced back behind at Harry and Cho down the corridor. "Just now with you, Cho and Harry, it reminded me of the mating ritual of vampires. Often when two female vampires are competing for a mate, they will try to mark their territory by biting into the mate's neck secreting something similar to the amortentia potion therefore marking them with their scent and also making the mate attracted to their scent. Though unlike the amortentia potion the mate's own affections determines how much they are affected by the scent. I fancy, Harry might not like getting bitten. It might be more painful since you do not have the protruding canines that vampires have," she fingered the necklace of butterbeer caps around her neck," maybe you should give him a necklace of your baby teeth instead."

Ginny just kind of stared at her dumbfounded then replied in somewhat of a question, as she didn't really know how she should reply. "I…I don't have my baby teeth?"

"Oh, that's alright you can send a letter to Mildred Ellens, maybe you can make a bargain with her," Luna said with no worries over the dilemma.

"Who?" said Ginny.

"The tooth fairy," said Luna simply. "Her father was a fairy and her mother was a smaller than average goblin obsessed with collecting tiny teeth, _you know_."

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><p>Ginny ended up skipping breakfast that day, she didn't really fancy the thought of Ron glaring over at her, or George and Fred making kissing sounds at her and Harry, or watching Harry go back and forth between looking uncomfortably at her and pining for Cho Chang, or Hermione shooting her with questioning glances, or…<em>a whole lot of things.<em> Her day was pretty normal, that was until she walked out one the greenhouses after her class with over and noticed Ron waiting nearby.

"_Ron_?" Ginny said. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Ron sharply turned his head at the sound of her voice, his ears slightly red as he came charging towards her. "_Did Harry talk to you yet_?" he demanded.

"Well, if saying _hey Ginny_ counts, then yeah," she shrugged her shoulders." Really Ron, I don't even see Harry most the day, I'm a fourth year and it's not like he's going to make any special effort to find me, like you obviously did." She glanced around glad that most of her fellow fourth years had gone off somewhere else.

Ron scoffed at her. "You better call your little date with Harry off now, or…or..," he seemed at a loss how to finish,"….I'm telling _mum_!"

"Telling her what Ron?" Ginny retorted, narrowing her eyes. "That I asked a boy out and that boy happens to be Harry? And she should come down _here_ because I'm bothering him with my crush?"

Ron let out a huff kicking blades of grass with his shoe. "Listen, Ginny, Harry is a good bloke," he pointed to himself," _my_ best mate and if you had to be with anyone," he paused," I _guess_ I would want it to be him. But Harry doesn't fancy you, he fancies Cho and you shouldn't be pestering him with dates because…because…," he trailed off looking down at the ground.

"Because _what_ Ron?" Ginny asked tensely.

Ron snapped his head up. "Because you're just going to get_ hurt!"_

Ginny's temper somewhat lessened, but she still stood tall looking straight at him. "I'm not your baby sister anymore, Ron. I'm going to get hurt sometimes, just like everybody else."

Ron glared at her then looked back down at the ground, his ears going red, then he looked back up at her pointing his finger at her. "Listen Ginny, don't take him the _wrong_ way. Harry's a nice bloke, sometimes _too _nice, he doesn't need you misunderstanding him." He then trailed off grumbling to himself.

Ginny shook her head, raising her shoulders. "What are you _talking_ about, Ron?"

"_Nothing! Just nothing!"_ Ron yelled throwing up his arms. "This _whole thing_ is mental if you ask me!"

Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes then she glanced at him. "Ron?"

He glanced at her scoffing. "Yeah?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't you have a class soon or something?"

Ron's eyes widened, he sharply turned his head up to look at the giant clock in the distance.

Ginny shook her head as she watched her brother frantically running up the hill, cursing under his breath.

* * *

><p>Harry laid on the top covers of his four-poster bed in the boys' dormitory, he had just finished dinner and all the other boys were down in the Common Room either hanging out or studying, <em>barely<em> studying that is.

He tried to go over some things in his head, his conversation with Sirius and the conversation he had, had in the morning with Ron and Hermione. He had came down the staircase that morning to find Ron and Hermione and a much of other students gathered around the notice board.

He almost didn't want to look in fear that it would be yet another Educational Decree by _the High Inquisitor_. What could it be this time? Did they all have to wear matching pink uniforms? He almost thought it to be true when Ron and Hermione walked up to him. Ron looked in shock as if he couldn't believe what he had just read, while Hermione looked entirely steamed and almost at the brink of tears.

"What is it?" Harry asked, dreading to hear the answer.

Ron raised his finger pointing at the notice board, his mouth gaping. "She…she..," he stuttered," she cancelled all our classes this Friday and gave us a Hogsmeade visit!" he finally managed to choke out.

Harry squinted his eyes then shook his head. "_W-what?"_ He quickly made his way through the crowd of people and stared at the sign then glanced down at the bottom to see the official seal and the curly signature of one Dolores Jane Umbridge. "_It's true,"_ he breathed.

He made his back to Ron and Hermione, looking very much like Ron did. "Is...Is this a joke?" he cried out. "The twins—"

Hermione shook her head solemnly. "It's real."

"She's issuing another Hogsmeade visit already and cancelling our classes?" Harry exclaimed. "That doesn't make sense! Making the students happy it's very _Un_-Umbridge. Does someone have her under the _Imperius_ curse?"

Ron let out a sudden bark of laugher. "_I wish."_

"Well, it's very obvious why she's issuing a Hogsmeade visit," Hermione looked to them raising her eyebrows. "Don't you get it?"

Harry and Ron turned to each other wordlessly then looked back to her. "No, we don't Hermione."

"Well, _obviously_ by issuing another Hogsmeade visit it leaves Hogwarts emptier which gives her more free time to search out Hogwarts, she must be getting desperate to find something. And Hogsmeade is more open, it doesn't have all the secret passages and rooms that Hogwarts has so it's harder for students to collaborate together in secret and also it takes away more time from our education which is already _lacking_ from the defense classes, so we are even less prepared than _before_!"

"Well, that's too bad…I guess," said Ron shrugging his shoulders. "But we get a Hogsmeade visit and _no _classes!"

Harry arched an eyebrow at Hermione. "Why are you so put out about this, Hermione?"

"Because I had an exam this Friday and I studied _really_ hard!" Hermione huffed out, crossing her arms.

Ron rolled his eyes at her. "You _always _study really hard, Hermione." He turned to Harry grinning. "So mate, what do you want to do first when we get there? Have some butterbeer?"

Harry didn't answer right away as he seemed to thinking about something. He glanced back at the notice board. This could be his chance to fulfill his agreement. "I think I'm going to be busy."

"Busy?" Ron repeated. "Busy with what?"

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he took a breath and exhaled," and I've decided to keep my date with Ginny."

Ron's eyes grew wide, his ears turning red. "_You want to date my sister?"_ he bellowed.

Harry took a step back, waving his hands and shaking his head. "_No, no! Of course not!" _he cried out then quickly corrected himself. "I mean _not_ that there's anything wrong with that! But it wouldn't be like a _date-date_, we would just hang out, it would _kind of_ be like a date, but without all the _romantic_ stuff," he said then shrugged his shoulders. "I think it could be fun, Ginny's not that bad, and I did say yes, _so_ yeah."

Hermione looked to him, suddenly looking very happy. "Well, I think this is wonderful, it will give you a chance to get to know Ginny."

Ron shook his head, looking very displeased. "You're going to give her the wrong idea. Why don't you just stand her up and get the idea across that way."

Hermione gasped, glaring at Ron. "_Ronald Weasley!"_ she yelled.

Ron held up his shoulders looking innocent. "What? It's _better_ than him _stringing_ her along!"

Harry stepped in before they could start another shouting match. "I'm _not_ going to _string_ her along!" he said heatedly. "I'm going to be very clear, that we're just going to hang out as friends."

Hermione turned to him smiling brightly. "Wonderful."

Ron shook his head and groaned. "This _can't_ be _happening_."

Harry sighed recalling the rest of that morning as he continued lying on his four-poster bed. He had shortly ran into Cho Chang on his way to the Great Hall after that and he had also seen Ginny. He hadn't been prepared to see her so quickly after only a couple of minutes of deciding that he was going to keep their…their.._blimey_, he didn't know what to call it. He had also been somewhat anxious at being so _aware_ of her crush on him, more so than he had ever been before. He had managed to say hello to her and she had said hello back, much calmer than he expected. Then to his absolute horror Cho had started talking to her making her stay around.

Harry sat up in his bed as he recalled something else. She had said she was hungry. But he hadn't seen her in the Great Hall that morning for breakfast. His eyebrows knotted up in confusion. Oh, well he wasn't going to discuss their agreement in front of everyone in the Great Hall and he certainly wasn't going to bring it up when he had been talking with Cho, she might have gotten the wrong idea.

But he _did_ have to talk to her about their…their…_arrangement_. Now where could she be? He hadn't seen her down in the Common Room. He thought some more, his eyes roaming around the boys' dormitory until they landed on his trunk. _"That's it!"_

Harry jumped off his bed walking around to his trunk and got on his knees searching through it until he found what he wanted. He pulled out a plain looking piece of parchment and then took out his wand, looked around to make sure no one was there and then he placed his wand on parchment and said the words, "_I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."_

The piece of parchment came to life as swirls of ink filled the page drawing in the different rooms and areas of Hogwarts and animated little foot-prints walked along these rooms with names besides them. Harry looked it over, his eyes scanning for a name, but then his eyebrows knitted together when he couldn't find it. How could that be? She couldn't possibly be outside of Hogwarts' grounds, could she? She had to be around there somewhere. He looked again, this time at a slower pace and then his eyes darted to a name he hadn't noticed before.

Harry blinked at the name staring back at him, his eyes darted to the last name. Yes, that was the right last name. His eyes returned back to the first name and then he said it aloud with a mixture of wonderment and realization.

"_Ginevra?"_

* * *

><p>Ginny scanned through a book, tracing the words with her finger and let out a sigh when she couldn't find the information she needed. She looked up from the book to glance around the library to see it was practically deserted. She let out another sigh, she would much rather be outside right now practicing flying moves or leisurely walking around the grounds but she prided herself a good student; she was no way as studious as Percy or Hermione but she was no slacker.<p>

She glanced at her nearly finished Charms essay and then her mind wondered to Harry. She wondered what he was doing right now, probably thinking about Cho just like she was thinking of him. She closed the book she was looking at and picked it up carrying it back over to the shelf. She was glad she had gotten her confession off her chest, she felt like it had opened a lot more opportunities for her to grow. She slid the book back into place then started searching for another book. Harry didn't fancy her back, his mind didn't wander to her and that strung, she admitted but maybe one day her heart wouldn't pound against her chest like a Beaters' club when she saw those green eyes of his.

Ginny pulled out another book from the shelf and then her heart felt like a bludger being hit with a Beaters' club as she saw a pair of green eyes framed with glasses staring back at her through the space on the shelf where the book had been. She jumped back, clutching the book to her chest, biting back a scream as she stared flabbergasted at the pair of green she would know anywhere.

Harry quickly came around the bookshelf to her side, his face twisting with guilt. "_Sorry_, I didn't mean to startle you, I wasn't expecting you just to be on the other side," he looked down at a piece of parchment he was holding out in his hands," well, I knew you were pretty close, but yeah…," he trailed off then took out his wand mumbling something as he put in against the parchment then fumbled with it, sticking it into his back pocket.

While he was doing this, Ginny tried to calm down her breathing.

Harry then just stood there then he slowly raised his hand giving a feeble wave. "Hey…Ginny," he said awkwardly.

"Hello, Harry," Ginny said, her tone somewhat puzzled.

Harry stuck his hands into his pockets. "So, whatcha doing?"

Ginny glanced over at her Charms essay resting on the table. "Working on my Charms essay."

Harry nodded. "That's good."

Ginny nodded back then sat down the book she had been clutching to her chest onto the table. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

Ginny did a double-take at him, she must have heard him wrong. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Did you see that sign on the notice board this morning?" Harry said instead of answering her question.

Ginny blinked at the sudden change of subject. "Oh, the one about our classes being canceled and having a Hogsmeade visit?" she nodded, her eyebrows knitting together. "Yeah, Hermione showed it to me, it was a bit..._odd_, wasn't it?"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, Hermione has her theories why Umbridge did it," he said then paused for a long moment and started slowly again. "Ginny, about yesterday…what you said and what you," his eyes darted around uncomfortably,"…_asked_."

Ginny sighed, her shoulders dropping forward. "Harry, about that I—," she started to say but Harry interrupted her.

"Listen, Ginny I know I said yes when you," he was having some trouble getting the next words out,"…you asked me out and I'm _not_ taking it back," he said firmly. "But I just want to make it clear that I don't quite feel," he struggled again with his words," the _same_ way you do but I still want to get to know you. So I thought we could hang out and get to know each other, you know sort of like a," he paused, closing one of his eyes trying to think of the right way to put it,"… play date."

Ginny stared at him trying to take in all he had just said. He wanted a _play date?_ Those things where parents arranged times for their kids, usually around the ages of one to five, to play together to develop friendships? She arched an eyebrow at him. "You want to have a _play date_ with _me_?"

Harry smiled nodding, sighing in relief. "Yes, _exactly_. So what do you say Ginny? Next Hogsmeade visit just you and me?"

Ginny stood there pondering over it. Okay, so it wasn't an actual date, but hey it still had the word _date_ in it. And it was more than she had expected. She looked at him as he waited for her answer. He seemed to genuinely want to keep his word and get to know her. "I say you have yourself a playmate, Harry."

Harry smiled at her reply. "Brilliant."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Please review! Thank you, writetress_


	3. Liking Ginevra

_A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews! _

_**angelthatfell**-thank you, I'm glad they're in character to you and that it's funny!  
><strong>AllTheNamesITryAreTaken<strong>-lol, I guess it could be seen both ways, but I assure you, Harry meant it in a completely innocent way and thank you.  
><strong>kitty<strong>-Thank you, I'm glad you liked the family moments and I enjoyed writing Luna and her knowledge of vampires.  
><strong>(?)<strong>-I'm very happy to read you officially love it!  
><strong>mmendoza688<strong>-yes, he's awkward! And does need a woman to give him a swift kick.  
><strong>Jess<strong>-Thank you very much!  
><strong>StopMakingExcuses<strong>-Thank you! Yes, Ron is Ron as always! I will try to keep it up!  
><strong>Delena-Spuffy<strong>-Thank you! Yep, he's a boy alright.  
><em>_**Haley Renee-**Yeah, didn't like how Harry acts like a mooncalf around Cho. Slowly but surely he's seeing more of Ginny. And you did? Yeah, I expected that..lol.  
><strong>Spartan20-<strong>Thank you glad you liked it!  
><strong>sbmcneil-<strong>Thank you, and yes poor Harry never even had a play date in his childhood, but he's making up for that.  
><strong>bdavisrulz-<strong>I plan to go at a somewhat realistic pace at Harry realizing some things but yeah there's a guy in the plan...lol.  
><strong>cherrion-<strong>Thank you very much!  
><em>_**lovelikewoe13-**Thank you, glad you liked it!_

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do <strong>not <strong>own Harry Potter._

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**THREE**

_Liking Ginevra_

* * *

><p>Ginny woke up that Friday morning barely knowing where to begin. She knew this wasn't an actual date, but it was perfectly normal to want to look presentable for a friend, right? Yes, presentable but not overdone. With this in mind she took a shower using her favorite floral shampoo and once her hair was dry she put it half up in the back. She then decided to wear some muggle jeans and a warm blue v-neck jumper and also a cream colored wool scarf with her coat. Looking in the mirror she thought she looked nice but not like she put too much effort into it. It was just right for a play date or she guessed being as she wasn't familiar with the dress code for a teenage play date.<p>

She didn't head down until she knew breakfast was probably over; she just wanted to head straight for the line to Hogsmeade, she didn't think she'd be able to eat anything.

Walking down the corridor towards the entrance hall she was surprised to suddenly find two elbows resting on her shoulders. She looked to her right and left to see George and Fred grinning widely at her.

"You look nice today, Ginny," George chimed looking down at her.

"Yes, _very_ nice," Fred agreed.

They looked to each other then down at her. "Any reason why?"

George leaned forward smiling. "We heard from our dear brother Ron that you tricked Harry into agreeing to a date."

"We're very proud," said Fred.

"_Trickery_," they sighed fondly together, resting their hands over their hearts. "You do take after us."

"How _did_ you ever manage to ensnare the elusive Mr. Potter?" George asked with inquiring eyes.

"The object of your fanciful dreams."

"The fresh pickled toad eyed wonder."

"The uncatchable lightning bolt Seeker."

"The make you no utter Potter."

"The—,"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders throwing off their elbows. "_Sod off_," she said then continued down the corridor.

Fred raised his hand to his mouth letting out a gasp. "George, I think we were just _slighted_."

George raised his eyebrows. "Indeed."

* * *

><p>Ginny walked into the entrance hall to see that people had already started lining up to be signed out by Filch who was making comments how they were rotten brats and should treat the Headmistress with more respect. She looked around until she spotted Harry and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of his adorable unruly hair. Her smile somewhat faltered as she got closer and noticed Ron and Hermione with him.<p>

Hermione smiled upon seeing her and nudged Harry, nodding towards her. Harry turned his head and her heart kind of skipped when his eyes landed on her. He gave her somewhat of an awkward smile. "H-hey Ginny."

"Hi, Harry," she said back and also said hello to Hermione and her brother who was frowning at her.

"You look very nice today, Ginny," said Hermione, she then eyed Harry. "Doesn't she look _nice_, Harry?"

Harry kind of blinked in confusion as Hermione kept jerking her chin towards Ginny. "Um…yeah, she looks nice."

All of them then proceeded outside once they were signed out and Ginny felt very grateful she had decided to wear a scarf as the wind hit her face and snow surrounded her boots. As they walked to Hogsmeade Hermione did most of the talking but she wasn't really paying attention as she wondered if her brother and Hermione were going to leave once they got to Hogsmeade.

This question was quickly answered as Hermione exclaimed that she was going to head to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and that she would see them later and walked away. Ron however just stood there glaring, his eyes darting back and forth between them. Hermione came back a second later and grabbed Ron's arm, tugging on it. "_Come on, Ron_," she hissed.

"B-but…but..," Ron protested as she pulled at him. "Don't rip my bloody arm off, Hermione! I don't want to look at any cruddy quills!"

They could still be heard in the distance arguing as they walked away. And then it was just her and Harry standing alone. She couldn't remember the last time she had been alone with Harry—no, that was untrue. The last time she had been alone with him had been under very unfavorable events, when she had been at the point of death and he was but a twelve year old boy trying to save her. How different the circumstances were now, their second time being alone to go on a play date. It was almost like a tragicomedy.

They stood together awkwardly not saying a word. Harry stood glancing around looking lost and unsure what to do. The awkwardness was like a fog surrounding them, and it was thicker than one of Umbridge's putrid fluffy pink cardigans. Finally, Harry said, "Um…shall we go then?"

They walked together side by side, with a reasonable amount of space between them. The snow crunched against their shoes in the silence and small puffs of steam danced around their faces as their warm breath mixed with the frigid winter air. Ginny glanced up at him through her peripheral vision, studying his profile as he walked beside her. She didn't exactly know where they were walking to but it didn't really matter to her, no what mattered was the person beside her. She wondered if she should try to initiate some conversation and then she noticed the Hog's Head coming up ahead. She looked back to Harry to find him also looking at the pub, his eyes pensive as they stared at the pub's sign slightly rattling in the wind. He was probably recalling the first gathering of Dumbledore's Army.

"It's really great what you're doing for the students, Harry," said Ginny in her admiration.

Harry turned his head towards her, then he glanced down giving a slight smile. "It was all Hermione's idea, really," he said modestly.

"But you're the one teaching," Ginny pointed out. "You might seriously consider becoming a professor."

Harry let out a light chuckle. "No, I don't think so," his lips curved up," I don't think I could take seeing Snape every morning, not to mention _Umbridge_."

Ginny started laughing, her eyes squinting with delight and then Harry joined in chuckling. And just like that the fog of awareness seemed to condensate into the air just like their breathes, fading, disappearing into the atmosphere.

Harry stopped fully turning to her. "So? Where would you like to go?"

"How about Zonko's Joke Shop?" Ginny suggested.

"Alright," said Harry with a slight smile and then they continued walking through the snow.

Harry and Ginny entered Zonko's Joke Shop being welcomed by odd and silly noises and laugher at every corner. Ginny walked up to one of the shelves eyeing the hiccough sweets and then she heard Harry let out a snort beside her. She turned to look at him. "What?"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Harry with his lips curved upward as he looked at the dungbombs," I was just thinking about something." He continued looking at different pieces of merchandise. "So, are you doing some early Christmas shopping for George and Fred?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow and glanced at his profile. "_No_, I like to come here to see if they have anything new."

"Oh, you like playing pranks?" said Harry with a somewhat surprised tone.

"Oh, I've played a practical joke once or _twice_," she said it in a way that implied she was no amateur to the fine arts of mischief and pranks.

Harry blinked then slowly turned his head towards her taking his eyes off the merchandise, he gave her a quizzical look, his green stare surveying her trying to figure out exactly what that meant.

After Ginny didn't see anything really new they left Zonko's Joke Shop and decided to head towards The Three Broomsticks as they started to feel thirsty and in need of a butterbeer to wet their chapped lips.

* * *

><p>When they entered The Three Broomsticks a sudden gush of wind caught Ginny by surprise sending her petite body forward causing her to bump into the person crossing in front of her.<p>

Ginny stepped back from the person. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, it's okay….," the boy trailed off as he took notice of her face and then he smiled. "Hey, Ginny!"

Ginny looked back at the boy. "Oh, hey Michael," she said smiling. "You here with your mates?"

Michael nodded. "Yeah, sure am! So, are you meeting some friends here or are you alone? Because if you are you're more than welcome to join us."

"Oh, I'm here with…," Ginny trailed off as she glanced at Harry who came beside her; his eyes were narrowed as he looked between them, he looked somewhat perplexed and something else.

Michael followed her gaze and then his eyes widened in astonishment as he noticed Harry standing there. "_Oh_, hey Harry," he said some uncertainty.

Harry looked back at him and nodded. "Hey."

Michael darted his eyes back and forth between them. "You two are here _together_, then?"

Ginny slightly laughed, trying to hide the bittersweet pang she felt at those words. "Oh, we're just hanging out."

Michael's face notably lightened, he nodded in understanding but still looked a little unsure. "Oh," he glanced at Harry. "So no Granger or Weasley, huh?" he continued on not waiting for an answer. "That was a great practice by the way, Harry."

Harry slightly smiled. "Thanks, glad you could come."

Michael looked at them one more time. "Well, see you two later!" he said with a smile, more so in her direction and then walked off somewhere else.

Harry and Ginny found an empty booth and sat across from one another; Harry took off his jacket while Ginny unraveled her scarf around her neck and took off her coat. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him wearing his emerald Weasley jumper.

Harry just sat there, a question in his eyes. "Ginny, who was that?"

Ginny sat down her scarf beside her then looked back up at him. "Who?"

"That bloke," said Harry. "I mean I know he was at the D.A. but I don't remember much about him."

"That's Michael Corner, he's a fifth year Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded. "Oh," he said then glanced down at his hands in his lap. "He seemed a bit surprised to see me with you, as if I don't hang out with anyone but Ron or Hermione."

Ginny slightly raised her eyebrows. "Well, Harry you kind of don't."

Harry looked up straight at her; he seemed a bit taken aback by her reply. "I hang out with you, Neville, Dean and…um…," his voice started to falter as he seemed to be losing confidence in his answer,"…the quidditch team and…," he trailed off going dead silent. He sat back into his seat, his eyebrows knitting together looking a bit distressed.

Just then Madam Rosmerta, in all her curvy glory, came up to their table. "What can I get for you, dearies?"

"I'll have a butterbeer, please," said Ginny.

It took a moment for Harry to answer as he was still lost in thought. "Me too, I'll have the same."

Madam Rosmerta smiled then walked off to go fill their orders, as she left Harry then took notice to someone that had been blocked by Madam Rosmerta's figure and let out a gasp, slouching down in his seat.

Ginny looked over to where he was looking at to see the back of Cho Chang's shiny raven hair, she was sitting at a table a little bit away with her friend Marietta.

Ginny glanced back at Harry. She wasn't going to mention that she had noticed Cho Chang earlier glancing—well, more like glaring—over at them when they entered the pub and sat down.

Cho Chang said something to her friend then got up most likely heading towards the loos. Ginny watched as Harry turned his head away from her, his eyes following Cho Chang, who didn't even look in his direction.

Ginny felt like she was reliving the Yule Ball, the only things that were missing were the music, the fancy formal wear and her toes aching from Neville stepping on them. "It sucks, doesn't it?" she said in a solemn tone.

"What sucks?" asked Harry still looking in the other direction, still looking at Cho.

"When you see the person you fancy and all you want is for them to look at you or just talk a little but they don't even _notice_ you."

"_Yeah,"_ Harry sighed dejectedly then started turning back around," how did you know...," he trailed off as he faced her,"….oh…_oh_," he cried out as his eyes widened in realization and it seemed to hit him who exactly he was sitting with," oh my gosh, _Ginny_," his face started to twist almost as if he was in pain. "I…I..," he trailed off his gaze burning into the table.

"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said. She wanted him to realize how she felt but at the same time didn't want to see him like this. It was like a double-edged sword her relationship—or more so her lack of relationship—with Harry.

Harry ran his hand roughly through his hair. "No, it's not _okay!_" he snapped, then his eyes softened as he looked up at her. "Ginny, I feel _awful_. I never stopped to think about how you…," he trailed off looking a loss for words.

"Harry, really it's okay," she tried to smile to reassure him. "It's not a crime to look at a pretty girl," she looked down. "I'm sorry I said that. You had more important things to think about with everything going on," she said trying to convince herself of that.

"My friends are _important_ to me, Ginny," he sighed. "I didn't have a lot or…," he glanced away but not before she saw the emotional scars flickering just above the surface of his eyes," _any_ _growing up_," he said in a barely audible tone. He then looked up at her. "And you're my friend," he said earnestly.

And for once that word didn't hold the bittersweet sensation it usually did when coming from a boy you fancied. Instead, Ginny felt a sense of honor that he truly considered her his friend, someone he could possibly open up to more in the future.

Madam Rosmerta came back holding their glasses of butterbeer, she sat them down on the table smiling at the both of them. "You two make a lovely couple."

At that moment Ginny felt like she had a brief sit back in the blushing department. Harry seemed dumbfounded for a moment then choked out, "Oh, we're not a—," but he suddenly stopped at Madam Rosmerta's next words.

"Why, if you don't remind me of James Potter and Lily Evans when they came in here for their first date," said Madam Rosmerta. "I can still remember what James said that day, he said, 'You're much prettier than her Lily. Oh, but not that you're not lovely Madam Rosmerta, it's just that no one is as beautiful as my Lily.'" Madam Rosmerta laughed getting a bit teary-eyed. "James, he was always a charmer."

Harry stared at her. "He…he said that?" he choked out.

Madam Rosmerta smiled and nodded. "You two have a nice time now," she said then went off to take other orders.

Ginny watched as he sat there and reached out to grip his butterbeer, his grip being a little tighter than necessary. He didn't lift it up to take a drink, he just stared solemnly at it, his mind looking miles away.

"Harry?" she said in concern.

His eyes snapped up to her. "_Huh_?" he shook his head. "Oh, sorry."

Ginny seemed at a loss how to proceed for a moment, she could tell he was hurting but knew he probably wouldn't want to talk about it. Hermione probably would have badger him on to talk about it until he blew up at her and Ron probably would have just gone quiet and awkwardly sat there.

"I guess you don't take after your father," she said breaking the silence.

Harry blinked. "W-what?"

"Come on, Harry you're absolutely rubbish with girls," she said smiling at him. "Here you are sitting with a perfectly lovely lady and you're not saying much of anything."

She watched somewhat anxiously as he just stared at her, but then he cracked a smile letting out a laugh. "My apologies, Miss Weasley. I will try harder."

After that they drank their butterbeers and started having some conversation. Harry was more attentive to her listening to what she had to say instead of glancing away at other things. They didn't talk about anything serious just things like their mutual dislike of Umbridge, their classes, what they had been doing that year so far and many other things. It put their five to ten word conversations of the past to shame.

* * *

><p>They walked through the snow their stomachs filled with butterbeer and their hearts warmed with the budding of a great friendship.<p>

Harry turned to her. "Would you mind if we stopped by Spintwitches? I'd like check out their equipment."

Ginny shook her head. "No, I don't mind."

So Harry and Ginny headed next to Spintwitches where Harry checked out their equipment, while Ginny did the same. She stared up at a Firebolt on display admiring the rich sheen of its ash wood handle. "Merlin, I'd love to try a Wronski Feint on one of these. Of course, I've never fully tried to do it on any broom, it's a brilliant tactic but I still prefer practicing Chaser moves."

Harry nodded while thumbing through a quidditch book. "Yeah, it's brilliant just that free falling feeling, the wind rushing past your face and that pure adrenaline that wakes up all your senses, it's…," he trailed off, his hand halting on a page, then he turned to her,"….you _play_ quidditch?"

Ginny looked back at him, almost laughing out loud at the shocked expression on his face. "Why, _yes_ Harry I play quidditch _and_ play pranks, is that so hard to believe?"

"Um, well no," Harry glanced down at the book," I just never knew."

Ginny smirked at him. "No, you didn't." she then looked away and turned her attention to the Chaser gloves on the shelf.

Harry was quiet for a while then went back to thumbing through the book but then he looked up again. "I've never heard Ron mentioning that you play and you've never played with us."

That time she did actually laugh. "My brothers don't know that I can really play and as if they would let me join them and besides mum would have kittens, she thinks it's too _dangerous_ for me," she slipped on one of the gloves, opening and closing her hand, getting a feel for it. "Not that, that's going to stop me from playing in a real match one day."

Harry closed the book and placed it back on the stand. "I'd like to see you fly," he started browsing through the rest of the quidditch magazines and books. "Maybe we could play quidditch one-on-one sometime."

Ginny stopped flexing her hand and stared at his profile. He had said it casually, offering to have a friendly quidditch match, but to her it meant something more that he wanted to spend time with her. "Okay, sometime then," she said.

* * *

><p>Their next destination after Spintwitches was Honeydukes and this time Harry wasn't surprised to find that she liked Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans, they both bought a bag of them and then headed out into the snow once again; thankfully the wind had died down.<p>

Harry kind of slowed down in his tracks as he noticed Ginny leaning her head back and throwing a bean in the air, catching it in her mouth. "What are you doing?" he chuckled.

Ginny chewed, smiling then mumbled. "_Mmmm_…pudding," she swallowed. "I'm throwing beans into my mouth, try it."

"Um…," Harry looked down at the bag in his hand.

"Come on, Harry this is a _play_ date, isn't it? Now play with me!" she threw another bean in the air, catching it. "I bet I can make more goals than you."

Harry smiled and started opening his bag. "Alright, you're on."

And hence the game of every flavor bean quaffles and mouth goal posts began. It was a heated match as Weasley kept making goal after goal, her aim being very precise but Potter was no quitter and caught up with her. Bean quaffles bounced off their mouths and they laughed; it was not an easy feat to walk and catch flying beans at the same time. In the end Weasley won as Potter struggled to chew a bean that had landed in his mouth and then he forced it down somewhat gagging. "I think I just ate a sardine flavored bean."

Their unattended, zigzag walk had lead them near the Shrieking Shack. Harry walked up to the barbed wire fence looking out into the distance at the old abandoned house the stood silent, void of the rumored shrieking and haunted howls.

Ginny came up beside him glancing at his profile then looked at the Shrieking Shack. "I wonder how Snuffles is doing," she pondered aloud. Harry glanced at her with a question in his eyes. "He told me," she nodded towards the Shrieking Shack," how he was finally reunited with you there."

Harry nodded then looked back at the shack. "I was able to talk to him recently about..," he paused looking down," about some advice. He seems to be doing fine but I'm starting to think Mrs. Weasley is right, he is a bit _rash_."

"He's not the only one."

Harry turned his head towards her and she continued on. "You kind of have a tendency to jump into dangerous situations without thinking it through," she looked at him thoughtfully," but I think you both have big hearts and just deeply want to protect those you care about, I think in that way you are also like your father."

Harry just stared at her for a moment then he looked away, his lips subtlety turning upward. "Thanks."

They then stood there silent, both of them lost in their own reverie. Harry broke the silence breathing one word into the stillness of winter surrounding them. "_Ginevra?"_

"Yeah?" she responded automatically, then she realized exactly what he had called her. She turned towards him. "Did you just call me—,"

Harry looked to her. "That's your name, isn't it?"

"H-how did you know that? Did Ron tell you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, when I was trying to find you to ask about our…um…well _this_, I got out the Marauder's Map…it's a map that—"

"I know what the Marauder's Map is," she said stopping him. "Oh, that's what you were holding in the library."

Harry nodded. "Well, the first time I looked I didn't see your name, which I thought was kind of strange but then I looked again and noticed a _Ginevra_ Weasley." He shook his head, sighing. "I can't believe I've known you for almost as long as I've known Ron, and I didn't even know your name."

"Not many do," she sighed," _fortunately." _

"Fortunately?" he asked.

"I've never particularly liked my birth name, it's just so old fashion and girly sounding."

Harry chuckled somewhat. "Well, you are a girl."

Ginny's eyes darted to him. "You think so?"

Harry stared at her, blinking back in confusion. "Well, yeah you're not a bloke."

Ginny nodded looking away. He saw her as a girl in the most biological sense of the word. It was like he was saying you have feminine features, you don't use the boys' loo and you can wear a dress without anyone thinking it's weird, therefore you _must_ be a girl. _Not_, you're pretty, you make me feel nervous and goofy when I'm around you and I just want to kiss you right now, therefore you're _definitely_ a girl.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I like Ginevra," his eyes widened and he corrected himself quickly hoping not to be misunderstood," the…the _name_ Ginevra. It's different, in a _good_ way. You have no idea how many Harrys there were at my muggle school. But still I liked my name, because my _parents_ gave it to me," he paused, staring down at his shoes in the snow then looked back up. "You know, I don't really _know_ you Ginny as a person. It's like all I knew was Ginny, but now I feel like I'm just starting to get to know all of you which is Ginevra," he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Does…does that make any sense or did I just make a complete prat out of myself?"

"Oh, Harry I'm sorry to tell you this but you do that often."

Harry just stared not sure how to response but then his face cracked a smile. "Good one, Ginny."

"I get it," Ginny said smiling. "You only knew a portion of my name just like you only knew a certain portion of me."

"Ginny, I have to admit I had a great time with you today, more than I expected and I'm glad I didn't miss it. We should hang out more…," he trailed off glancing at her like a boy asking permission to go to a quidditch game," if…if that's alright with you?"

Ginny sighed, she still couldn't believe this boy sometimes. As if _anyone_ wouldn't want to spend time with him, _especially _her. She blamed those awful muggle relatives of his for putting a sense of doubt in him. "I'd like that, Harry."

He smiled at her. "Brilliant. I'm really glad we're friends, Ginny." He stared at her and then glanced around. "So, um…?"

And then that fog of awkwardness came back at full force, as they stood clueless how to exactly _end_ their play date.

Neither of them did anything for a bit but then Harry awkwardly opened his arms and took a step forward. "So, you want to…um…hug…good-bye?" he said struggling with the words.

"Um, sure," she said hoping her voice wasn't high. She took a step forward and then they shared a quick, awkward first hug.

They stepped back; Ginny glanced down trying her best to control her face and Harry stood awkwardly, somewhat twitching his nose and sniffing. He glanced down at his watch. "Well, Ron wanted me to meet him and Hermione at The Three Broomsticks…do you want to come along?" he asked looking at her.

Ginny shook her head. "No, thanks I'm just going to enjoy the scenery a little bit longer."

"Alright, then," He said then waved at her. "See you later, Ginny!"

Ginny waved back as she watched him turn to leave, her wave grew feeble as his figure disappeared into the distance and then her hand plummeted to her side. She stood there alone with only his footprints in the snow being the only evidence that he had been there. She stared at his imprints in the snow wishing he still stood there, instead of the empty, cold, sunken packs of snow.

Spending time alone with Harry and just being with him, not the boy-who-lived, just _him_ had been just as great as she thought it would be, if not better. And she knew she should feel happy that he wanted to spend time with her and that she just wasn't another Weasley, but it _hurt_. It hurt knowing that she would truly never be with him in the way she wanted. It was like getting a taste of butterbeer and being told she could never have it again. Would he ever look at her differently? Right now, she didn't think so.

She had told Hermione that she wasn't a fool but in the end she had been.

_Harry will never love you, why would he?_

The voice of her insecurities had long ago lost the tone of her own voice, now every time she felt in her deepest despair she heard it in his voice. Even though he was no longer there, just like Harry's scar, her emotional scar lingered in the essence of her mind.

"_Shut up, Tom,"_ she choked out.

Ginny Weasley never cried, she was too tough, too tom-boyish, and had grown up in a household of brothers where crying was considered weak and girlish. But _Ginny_ wasn't all that she was. No matter how much she wanted to reject her more feminine birth name it would always be a part of her, it would always be her more vulnerable side.

_Ginevra _Weasley did cry, she had cried as Tom Riddle taunted her and slowly drained the life out of her, she had secretly cried in her four-poster bed after the dementors attacked the train, she had cried alone in a hidden passage after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament and as she stood there in the snow she cried as she ached for the boy that had imprinted himself into her heart.

Droplets of water seeped into the blankets of snow making tiny holes as they rolled off her cheeks. She looked at the footprints in the snow through her blurred vision then back up at the track they left into the distance and whispered a question to them.

"If you like my name, why don't you like _me_?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Please review! Thank you, writetress. Also this isn't the end by the way. I think I will be doing the next chapter in Harry's POV or I might switch it around, don't know yet._


	4. Of Flavors and Scents

_A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews! Also thank you Spenser Hemmingway for betaing for me agian!_

**_Miss Weasely-_**_Thank you! I don't think Ginny has to work that hard. I'm going at a slower pace, but the stirrings of change are happening. I'm glad you enjoyed Ginny's rant! :)  
><strong>AlbusExMachina-<strong>Thank you, I'm happy you're enjoying the pace and that's quite alright. I'm glad you liked Ginny's characterization. Yes, that part about Ginny pointing out to Harry about Cho, was my favorite moment to write. You also got everything I was trying to bring across in that moment. Brilliant! Yes, I do love writing Hermione moments too! I got a beta to help me out with my run-on sentences.  
><strong>bdavisrulz-<strong>Yes, Ginny did do great on the playdate! I hope you enjoy how I plan to get Harry and Ginny together. Thank you!  
><strong>8th-horcrux98-<strong>Thank you! I will! :)  
><strong>yukikiralacus-<strong>You will see how that goes! :)  
><strong>trtldx123-<strong>Thank you! Yep, he did still agree! That's Harry for you!  
><strong>Haley Renee-<strong>Yeah, I think Ginny heard you! You forgot about Michael? Well, Harry didn't...lol. Thank you!  
><strong>hpfreakster<strong>_**-**I'm glad you find my plot idea interesting! Thank you! :)  
><strong>FallingStar95-<strong>Thank you! Here is my update!  
><strong>Spartan20-<strong>_Thank you! Glad you like the pacing!  
><strong>Mini Luna-<strong>Thank you! I will! :)  
><strong>Jess<strong>-Glad you're looking forward to that!  
><strong>Pilargirl-<strong>Thank you, happy you're enjoying the way I'm writing it! Jealous Harry? Well,...um..Harry's green eyes will be getting more green, if you know what I mean.  
><strong>lovelikewoe13-<strong>Yes, Harry's POV! Thank you! Enjoy!  
><strong>mdauben-<strong>Thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed their date! :)  
><strong>Cobra0000-<strong>Thank you! I hope it continues to be good to you!  
><strong>XHinatalxlNarutoX-<strong>_Thank you! I'm happy you think so! I will try to keep it up!  
><strong>Faceless Enemy-<strong>Thank you very much!  
><strong>JJod-<strong>Thank you! Here's the update!  
><strong>angelthatfell-<strong>_Thank you! Well, there is a little Harry and Corner in here.  
><strong>Chichiforever-<strong>Thank you! Here is the update!_

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do <strong>not<strong> own Harry Potter_, but J.K. Rowling does!

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**FOUR**

_Of Flavors and Scents_

* * *

><p>Harry shuffled through the snow making his way to The Three Broomsticks, but then he suddenly halted, glancing back at the snow covered ground and the couple of students walking there. He kind of felt bad just leaving Ginny, but he had asked her if she wanted to come along. Maybe he should have been more persistent?<p>

He continued on through the snow, thinking that maybe Ron would have been a bit sore at him for bringing along Ginny. He couldn't understand why Ron was annoyed by Ginny sometimes; she was a lot of fun to hang out with. He had found that out today for himself.

Ginny was like a bag of every flavor beans; he didn't know what he was going to get. Just like a Bertie Bott Bean could either be surprisingly sweet or displeasing, so was she. He had already found out that she had many sweet flavors of her personality. She seemed to have a mischievous side to her; he wondered if she was anything like the twins. She apparently played Quidditch, and was determined to play on the team one day. She made him laugh and feel lighthearted with the way she talked and did things he never expected.

She also had some displeasing flavors, but not that there was anything displeasing about _her_. It was just some things she had said that left a bitter taste in his mouth about _himself_. She had brought to light some things he hadn't really took notice of, much like her crush. He guessed he did kind of isolate himself to only hanging out with Ron and Hermione. They were his best mates of course, but maybe he could hang out with other people every once and awhile, people like Ginny. Worse of all, the most bitter of things he had realized today was when they were at The Three Broomsticks. He had just completely forgotten about her when he spotted Cho, and well, he had acted like…like well, a _prat_.

Harry once again halted in the snow. He stared down at his shoes. Had she felt like he felt when he saw Cho with Cedric? That had been was a down-right awful feeling. He couldn't help but look at Cho because he found her pretty, but that didn't mean he had to just completely ignore Ginny. He didn't like the feeling of being ignored; he had experienced that enough with the Dursleys, and didn't wish to afflict that on anybody.

He started moving along again. People were going to start looking at him weirdly if he continued taking a couple of steps then halting. In conclusion, he was happy that he had made the decision to try the many flavors of Ginevra Weasley.

Harry almost bumped into someone as he wasn't paying much attention to what was in front of him. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said then started coughing a bit as he breathed in a strong whiff of perfume.

The young girl he had bumped into, who he believed was from Hufflepuff, just giggled at him and mumbled something that sounded like, 'It's alright.'

Once she was gone Harry kind of swatted at the air to move the thick aroma she left behind. The perfume had kind of been like a fruity shield surrounding her that would surely repel any spell. He didn't understand why girls wore so much perfume. He remembered once as a child he had been dusting his Aunt Petunia's vanity dresser and had accidently knocked over one of her perfumes, spilling it onto himself. His Aunt Petunia had been furious at him for wasting her expensive perfume, and he hadn't gotten any dinner for a while; if what he had gotten before could be considered dinner. He remembered wondering why anybody would _pay _to smell like a sticky, nauseatingly sweet lemon.

As Harry walked along, his encounter with that young girl had reminded him of another scent he had smelt today. Something flowery had entered his nose earlier; he thought it odd to be smelling flowers in the middle of winter. It was just after he had pulled away from his hug with Ginny that the scent tickled his nose. Had that flowery scent been her? The scent had been light and pleasing; he thought it fit Ginny well. He guessed not all scents were nauseating.

Also that hug with Ginny, while awkward had also been different. He had only gotten hugs from Hermione and Mrs. Weasley before and they had felt different from each other, but not very distinctly so. As hugs were still a foreign thing to him, he had kind of naively expected Ginny's hug to feel somewhat the same, but it hadn't. Ginny's hug had felt somewhat distinct even though it had been a very quick hug. It was different, but that didn't mean it was bad. It was just different like her name. He had a feeling this friendship with Ginny would introduce many different things, and he found he couldn't wait to discover them.

The warm air hit him when he entered The Three Broomsticks, and his body shivered as it warmed his bones. He looked around trying to spot either Ron or Hermione, and saw them sitting over at a table. He took a couple of steps to walk over to them, but then halted as he recalled something. This is where Ginny had bumped into that Michael Corner. He remembered watching Corner's expressions as he talked to Ginny, and he had kind of felt unsettled. For the life of him, he didn't know why, but for some reason that Corner fellow made him feel slightly _uneasy_. He didn't have faintest clue why. Corner seemed like a perfectly normal bloke, if only a little creepy. He was probably being a little paranoid with everything going on, wondering who might tattle on them to Umbridge. Yes, that must be it. He needed to loosen up, although for him, he didn't know how that was possible.

Harry joined Ron and Hermione at their table, sitting down. Hermione smiled at him, but then her eyes darted around quizzically. "Where's Ginny?" she asked.

"Oh, she's…," Harry began to answer but then Ron cut in.

"Come on, Hermione my sister already got her little _date_ with him!" Ron grabbed his butterbeer. "Harry doesn't want her tagging along everywhere he goes, right mate?"

"Actually, I asked her if she wanted to come along," said Harry, causing Ron to start choking on his butterbeer," but she said no."

Hermione nodded, looking anxiously down at the table and glancing at the entrance. Ron took a couple of gulps getting over his choking fit. "What did you do _that_ for?" he exclaimed.

Harry pursed his lips, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know, I just did."

Hermione leaned forward on the table, like a girl after the latest gossip. "So, how did it go? What did you guys do?"

Harry then explained what he had done with Ginny, listing the places they had gone to, and how it had been awkward at first, but then things just seemed to click. He didn't go into great detail about everything, such as their conversations, he felt those belonged to just him and Ginny, but he did still manage to give an overall impression how the play date went.

Ron took a swig of his butterbeer, eyeing Harry. "You make it almost sound like you had _fun_."

Harry glanced at Ron, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, yeah I did."

Ron spat out his butterbeer, sending some of it onto Harry and Hermione. "_Honestly, Ron!"_ Hermione cried out, she looked down at her jumper letting out a whimper of disgust.

"Hi, Harry…um…," Harry heard someone say, then looked up to see Cho looking at them, side stepping the liquid on the floor.

Harry sheepishly grinned at her, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Hey, Cho." Why did Cho always find him in these situations? First he had been covered with rancid Stinksap, and now he was covered with specks of sticky, second-hand butterbeer. Just once he'd like to found by her while doing something cool. Hopefully, he was improving in that area by instructing Dumbledore's Army.

Cho nodded towards Ron and Hermione, and then looked at Harry. "I saw you earlier in here."

"Oh, yeah I was," Harry said looking into Cho's almond eyes, "_here_," he added lamely.

"You were here with that redhead girl, Ginny, right?" said Cho. "I'm sorry, I didn't say hi to you both earlier."

"Yeah, I was hanging out with Ginny, and that's alright," replied Harry.

Cho nodded, and then just stared at him with a thoughtful look. Harry slouched down in his seat in his nervousness. Why was she just looking at him? Was she expecting him to say something else? He was soon relieved when she smiled at him. "Well, I'll see you around, Harry!" she said, then turned to go over where her friend was waiting for her by the entrance.

Harry looked to Hermione once Cho was gone. "What was that about?"

"I think she was checking her territory," mumbled Hermione.

"_W-what_?" said Harry, looking at her like she just spoke French instead of English. He was lost in translation to what the word _territory_ actually meant.

"What do you mean you had _fun_?" said Ron cutting in, getting back to their pervious conversation. "How could you _willingly_ have fun with my sister?"

Hermione sighed. "Oh, come on Ron. I bet you've had fun with your sister before. Didn't you guys hang out a lot?"

Ron looked down at the table. "Well…yeah…_I guess_," he said reluctantly. "She's still _annoying_ sometimes though," he mumbled.

When Harry returned to Hogwarts that day, he found Dobby in the Common Room picking up some more of Hermione's mismatch knits. Dobby informed him that, while the students were away at Hogsmeade, Umbridge and Filch had been snooping around the castle and even questioning the house-elves. Dobby proudly stated that he hadn't told them anything about the secret room. Harry thanked him, and then went up to the boys' dormitory to find the Marauder's Map still in its place. He really couldn't stand that _toad_ of a woman. He was going to try his best to keep the Room of Requirements a secret; it was the only safe haven he had in Umbridge's tyranny, and he knew many others felt the same.

* * *

><p>On Monday, Umbridge got her revenge by tripling their homework to make up for the missed day, and the other professors didn't go that easy on them either. Nonetheless, Harry still smiled as the D.A. meetings filled him with a sense of contentment at seeing everyone improve during the meetings, and oddly enough something else made him feel at ease—or should he say, <em>someone<em>? Over the past two weeks he had tried to put more effort into noticing Ginny, such as saying hello to her and stopping to chat for a bit, and it had paid off. Harry soon found that Ginny was fairly easy to talk to, and he had even on some occasions sought out her company when Ron and Hermione were busy with prefects' duties. He couldn't believe this was the same Ginny Weasley that couldn't say a word around him, she had _changed_. Or maybe it was just that he was finally getting a taste of the _real_ Ginevra Weasley.

Harry sat down on a cushion next to Hermione in the Room of Requirements after another successful D.A. meeting. All the D.A. members were just kind of hanging out before they had to leave to go back to their dorms. The Room of Requirements wasn't just for training; it was a place they could relax without Umbridge's dementor shadow looming over them.

Harry glanced around enjoying the smiling faces of his friends. Ron was talking to his brothers, probably about Quidditch. Parvati and Lavender were looking at a Witch Weekly magazine, giggling over something they were reading. Luna was talking to Neville, causing Neville to blink at her in confusion, and Cho was…_was coming straight at him!_

Harry looked up at her feeling his stomach flip. "Hi…Cho."

Cho smiled brightly at him. "Hi, Harry! So, how are you feeling about the first Quidditch match of the season? I'm looking forward to seeing you play against Slytherin."

"Oh, you are?" said Harry. "I'm really looking forward to it, especially since Ron is going to be playing with me." He glanced at Ron as he said this, and then caught sight of something else. It was Ginny, and she seemed to be laughing at something Corner said. Come to think of it, she often was paired with Corner during the meetings. He wondered if Ginny was trying to be helpful since she was pretty skilled, even though Corner was a year ahead of her. Did they hang out outside of the meetings? Harry blinked. Wait…what was he doing before he looked over at them? He glanced up, his eyes widening. _Oh, shoot! Cho! He had forgotten about her! And she was still talking and he had no idea what about!_ Harry felt his face burn in embarrassment. He decided it was just best to nod and smile. Soon Cho left at the urging of her friend Marietta.

Harry shook his head. That was _weird_, why did he do that? After hoping and waiting for Cho to talk to him, and he just spaced out! He glanced at Hermione with her nose buried in a book. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out the fake Galleon she had given them today. "These are really brilliant, Hermione," he said.

"_Hhhhmm?_" Hermione mumbled, coming out of her sanctuary of terms. "Oh, thanks Harry, hopefully they will serve their purpose well."

Harry put the fake Galleon back in his pocket, not saying another word, and Hermione returned to reading her book but not for very long. "Hermione?" said Harry.

Hermione looked up again from her book. "Yes?"

Harry looked over to where Ginny and Corner were standing. "Do you know if Ginny is friends with that Michael Corner?"

Hermione glanced over to where he was looking. "Yes, I believe they are," she turned to him. "Why?"

Harry watched them, his eyes becoming pensive. "Oh, well it's just that he…he doesn't seem to be in the same league as Ginny."

"_Same league?"_ Hermione repeated back with great emphasis.

"I mean skills-wise, she's such a quick leaner while he's still working on getting his wand motions down."

"What does that have to do with them being friends? I mean Neville isn't anywhere near your league, but you're still friends with him. And aren't we all part of the same league, Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione pointed out logically.

"Oh, well yes, of course! It's just…" Harry trailed off, his face twisting in perplexity, then he shook his head, chuckling. "Never mind. I don't know _what_ I was thinking."

He heard Hermione mumble something that sounded like, '_Or maybe you're thinking for the first time in your life_.'

Harry's eyes widened, did he just hear her right? "_W-what?_" he cried out, narrowing his eyes at her. "What did you just _say_?"

Hermione looked up from her book, staring at him with eyes of obliviousness; which was odd in itself since Hermione was never clueless. "Oh, _nothing_. I was just reading over a passage aloud," she said, then eyed him, her lips curving upward. "They met at the Yule Ball, you know," she nodded towards them. "Ginny and Michael. I think they even danced together a couple of times."

Harry turned back to look at them. "Oh, I hadn't noticed," he said faintly.

"Oh, I'm sure you were occupied with _other_ things," Hermione said. Harry turned sharply to look at her. Was she implying…? "Like the Triwizard Tournament and the tasks," she added innocently.

"_Oh_," Harry said, feebly nodding. "Yes that. Well, I _was_."

Hermione sighed, snapping her book shut. "Well, I think it's time to head back." She got up from the cushion. Harry got up also, stretching out his arms, letting out a yawn.

"I think he fancies her."

Harry froze in mid-stretch, his eyes wide darting to the side at Hermione. His brow furrowed as he looked at her. Why did she suddenly just say that? And why did his stomach just tense up? How was he supposed to reply to that?

It would seem that Hermione didn't expect a reply. She just quickly glanced at Ginny and Michael, then back at him and then headed towards the door.

Harry dropped his arms to his side as he watched Hermione walk away. He turned his head towards Ginny and Michael with a long quizzical stare, and suddenly felt a faint _growling_ in his stomach. He looked down at it somewhat surprised, but then shook his head, figuring he must be hungry or something.

* * *

><p>Harry sat at the Gryffindor table beside Ron, wondering if maybe it wasn't such a good idea for Ron to eat breakfast, as he looked likely to upchuck anything in his stomach. It was the morning of their match against Slytherin, and Ron was acting like it was the last morning of his life. He was not doing well with his pre-match jitters.<p>

Harry glanced back at the Slytherin table, narrowing his eyes trying in vain to read what were on those silver crown badges they all seemed to be wearing. He then turned back to see that Hermione and Ginny had joined them, sitting opposite to them. He noticed that Ginny's cheeks were slightly pink from the frigid November drafts as she gazed uneasily at her brother. "How are you doing, Ron?" she asked.

Since Ron looked incapable of doing anything, but staring down at his cereal with a hopeless, crazed look, Harry answered for him. "Oh, he's just got some pre-match jitters," he said, knowing that was a great _understatement_.

Hermione looked to Ron, trying to put on her best face. "Well, that's excellent. Your nerves will make you more alert, you're sure to block lots of goals."

Harry nodded in agreement, and then looked up to see Ginny smiling at him. "Good luck! I know you're both going to do great!" she exclaimed.

Harry suddenly felt a little queasy in his stomach. Maybe Ron wasn't the only one with pre-match jitters.

"_Hello_," said a far-off, dreamy voice from behind him.

Harry looked around and almost jumped when he saw a lion's head staring back at him. He looked down and saw Luna's face with a whimsical smile. He looked back up and realized the lion's head was a hat on her head. "I'm supporting Gryffindor," said Luna. Harry just nodded. _No joke_. Which some people thought it was, as they openly laughed at her. He narrowed his eyes at them, Luna was strange but she was a good person. Those people quickly stopped laughing when Luna made her lion hat roar with a tap of her wand.

Then for some reason Luna started looking closely at his neck. Harry leaned back to avoid the lion's head, he eyed her uncomfortably. "Is…is there something I can help you with, Luna?" Harry said awkwardly, while continuing to dodge her.

Luna stepped away. "Huh, no tooth marks."

Harry reached up to feel his neck checking for any punctures. "Um…sorry, no." He looked around the table at his friends to see if any of them knew what Luna was talking about, but of course no one knew. He did notice though that Ginny's face was suddenly at whole lot pinker.

Luna wished Ron good luck and then left their table. After that Harry soon ushered Ron through the Great Hall to take him to the changing rooms. Thankfully, Ron was too preoccupied with the good luck kiss on the cheek Hermione had given him to notice the badges the Slytherins wore. But Harry did, he could clearly read the slogan on their badges: WEASLEY IS OUR KING.

Harry picked up his pace, dragging Ron along. This could mean nothing but trouble.

* * *

><p>That woman was a <em>dementor<em> in disguise. It was the only explanation. That's why she seemed to live to make his life miserable, sucking away everything that brought him joy with those toad lips of hers! Harry kicked up some of the frosty grass, letting out a struggled scream. He was never going to be happy again. He had just been banned from playing Quidditch by Umbridge, for _life_.

Gryffindor had won the match, but in the end Slytherin had won. "_Weasley is our king_," Harry grumbled their insulting little song they sang during the match. The Slytherins had caused trouble alright. Harry and George had gotten in a scuffle with Malfoy after the match. Crabbe had smacked Harry with a Bludger and then Malfoy had started insulting them. Umbridge then stepped in banning Harry, George, and Fred from playing Quidditch for _life_.

Harry was now walking towards the stadium, everyone else was in the Common Room he supposed, well, expect Ron, he didn't know where he was at. Harry didn't know why he was torturing himself like this; going down to the Quidditch pitch when he knew very well that it would just be adding salt to the wound, but he just couldn't help himself. He loved the pitch, the wide open sky, the seemingly endless field of grass, the smells of leather Quaffles and wooden broomsticks. There was nothing like it. He just wanted to be alone. He didn't feel like being around people in the Common Room.

He pulled his scarf and coat closer to his body as he walked up to the spectators' stands. He sat down on one of the cold benches, and looked around at the deserted pitch. So many good memories were held here, and he had thought many more were to come in the next two years, but any possibility of that was now gone. Harry let out a rough sigh, making his breath visible in the cold air. "_Farewell,"_ he breathed.

Harry looked up when he suddenly heard noises like grunts in the distance. His eyes squinted at the goal post in the distance and realized he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. Someone was on a broom looking to be playing with a Quaffle, rather aggressively. The person suddenly flew closer to where he was and his eyes widened at what he saw. It was Ginny! She seemed to be practicing moves by herself.

"_Weasley is our king! Bloody, Slytherins! Getting them banned!"_ he heard her spit out. It would seem he wasn't the only one mad over today's match.

Harry just sat there unnoticed by her. He had never seen Ginny fly before, and wasn't it a sight! She was really brilliant with the way she controlled the broom and managed to do graceful motions even on that old school broom. She looked fierce with that determined look on her face and that vivid red hair of hers whipping around. He had almost forgotten about the true excitement of being a spectator of Quidditch. He stood up and started clapping, even letting out a "_Whoop!" _

Ginny suddenly halted in the air, and turned her head to scan the stands. Then their eyes met. "_H-Harry?"_ she choked out.

She flew towards the stands and landed next to him. "Harry, what are you doing here?"

Harry sat back down on the bench and shrugged his shoulders. "Saying good-bye, I guess." Ginny sat down next to him, setting the broom against the bench and placing the Quaffle in her lap. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Letting out my frustrations," said Ginny.

Harry glanced down at the Quaffle in her lap then back up at her. "How did you get a broom and a Quaffle out of the supplies closet?"

"I have my ways," was all she said.

Things were quiet between them after that until Ginny spoke. "Would you like to fly a lap around the pitch with me?"

Harry turned to her, frowning deeply. "Ginny, I've been _banned_."

Ginny pursed her lips, frowning back at him. "I _know_ that," she retorted. "You were banned from _playing Quidditch_ not riding a broom."

"Umbridge confiscated my broom," he paused, sighing. "_My Firebolt!"_

"So, you can just ride one of the school brooms."

"If Umbridge caught me on a broom now, she'd probably figure out a way to ban me from riding a broom, saying it's too _risky_ because of my _violent _tendencies."

"She can't ban you from riding a broom!" exclaimed Ginny feverishly. "And she can't ban you from playing Quidditch at the Burrow or anywhere else outside of Hogwarts!"

Harry looked at her. "_Wanna bet?"_ he said dryly.

Ginny huffed. "Well, if you keep sitting there like a big, brooding lump, of course she's going to win!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO, GINNY? I'M SO TIRED OF HAVING THINGS TAKEN AWAY FROM ME, AND EVERYONE JUST EXPECTING ME TO PUSH THROUGH IT! AREN'T I ALLOWED TO FEEL MISERABLE?"

Ginny just stared at him, not looking fazed by his outburst. "Of course, you're allowed to feel miserable. Just don't become so miserable that you lose sight of all the good things."

Harry sighed roughly, making another puff of steam in the air. Look at their breaths lingering in the chilly air reminded him of their play date they had on the snowy day in Hogsmeade. He glanced at her. "I'm…I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Ginny threw up the Quaffle, catching it. "That's alright. Now I know for sure that I'm your friend." She looked down at the Quaffle in her hands. "Besides, I've been told I have a nasty temper myself."

Harry watched as she played with the Quaffle, throwing it in the air and catching it. "Well, at least something good came out of my banishment."

"What is that?" said Ginny, still focusing on the Quaffle.

"You're getting a chance to play."

Ginny hands froze completely missing the Quaffle as it came down. It hit the ground near her feet with a _thump_ and continued thumping as it rolled down some stands. She turned to look at him in disbelief. "_What?_" she said faintly. "_Harry."_

"You said you also liked doing Seeker moves, right?" Harry paused, exhaling. "Angelina needs a new Seeker." He gulped, struggling to get the next words out. "You…you should try out for my position," he said, the words tasting bittersweet on his tongue. "The way you flew out there was brilliant, and it would be reassuring knowing you'd be my replacement."

Ginny looked down, not saying anything, then she looked back up at him with a sad smile. "No one can replace you, Harry."

Harry suddenly felt a jolt of happiness rush through him at the thought that Ginny found him to be an outstanding Seeker. It was strange; he was so used to not receiving any attention in the Muggle world, and then being bombarded with undeserved praise in the Wizarding world. But there were few people that made him feel a genuine sense of pride. He glanced down, feeling embarrassed by the compliment. "Thanks, but I'm not _that _great of a Seeker, that I can't be replaced."

Harry glanced up to see Ginny's face fall. He blinked looking back at her. Had he said something _wrong_? He didn't think he had, but then Ginny smiled at him. "Just so you know, I won't put up a fight when you want your Seeker position back."

"Ginny, I've been…,"

"_Banned_," Ginny finished for him."I know," she said. You'll get to play again, Harry I just know it."

Harry looked at Ginny as a small smile formed on his lips. He then realized he felt a lot better than he had a couple of moments ago when he thought he would never be happy again. He had just discovered another flavor of Ginevra Weasley—chocolate—the only thing guaranteed to pick up your spirits after a dementor attack.

Harry and Ginny left the pitch, the drop in temperature reminding them that it was getting late, and that their curfew was approaching. They walked back towards the castle, the snow crunching against their shoes.

Harry glanced at Ginny as she walked beside him. He remembered how McGonagall had first given him the chance to play, because she saw potential in him. He was happy to give Ginny this same chance. He may not be able to play, but he figured seeing Ginny play would be the next best thing.

"Harry, is that…?" Ginny trailed off, looking off into the distance.

Harry turned to look ahead where she was looking. There was someone near Hagrid's hut—it was the half-giant himself.

"_Hagrid!" _they cried out in joy.

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><p><em>AN: Please review! Thank you, writetress._


	5. Soggy Revelations

_A/N: I just want to thank everyone for their comments and reviews! I'm so happy you're all enjoying it and I really hope you enjoy this chapter as my thanks! :) I'll try to post a sneak peek of chapter 6 In the Eye of the Snake and Belly of the Beast in my profile sometime later!_

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do <strong>not <strong>own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does!_

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><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**FIVE**

_Soggy Revelations_

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><p>Harry bolted through the snow with Ginny, kicking up fragments of snow in their wake. Hagrid was back! His heart lifted up at the thought of seeing his old friend as he drew closer to the cloaked figure standing in the thickening snow. All that changed though, when Hagrid turned towards them revealing his face.<p>

Harry's heart plummeted into his stomach like a piece of rock cake when he saw the gruesome massacre that used to be his friend's face. Hagrid's hair was stuck to his face, caked with congealed blood, and his left eye was but a slit trying not to be swallowed in by the massive purple-and-black bruises. Several cuts stretched across his face, and if the droplets of blood falling from the sleeves of his cloak into the snow were any clue, he was sure Hagrid's hands were mangled up as well.

Ginny gasped, stumbling back into him. Harry took a hold of her shoulders, steadying them both. "_Hagrid_," Harry breathed in disbelief, "what happened to you?"

"Harry! Ginny!" exclaimed Hagrid, his voice greatly contrasting the state he was in.

Harry let go of Ginny's shoulders, his jaw tightening. "What _happened_ to you?" he repeated with more force.

"Nuthin', nuthin'!" Hagrid cried out. "Let's get inside," he said, motioning towards his hut. "Don't want ter become human icicles, now do yeh?"

Harry watched Hagrid closely as they moved towards his hut. It did nothing to ease his mind, as he noticed Hagrid moving tentatively with a limp. Hagrid opened the door welcoming them into his home, as did Fang upon the sight of them.

"Fang, settle down now! _Out of the way, _yeh crazy dog!" Hagrid yelled at the bounding dog. He walked into the hut taking off his cloak and laid his haversack against the wall. "Make yeh selves at home."

Harry stepped in front of Ginny. "No, Fang _no_! Down _Fang_!" he yelled, trying to keep the huge dog from knocking Ginny's petite form over.

Ginny sidestepped around Harry. "I think I can defend myself against a dog, Harry," she said with a sharp-tongue, then went up to Fang. "He always does this when I come to visit." She started roughly, but lovingly ruffling Fang's coat. "You just want some _love_, don't you Fang? Don't _you_?"

Fang barked happily in reply.

Harry stood flabbergasted by Ginny's remark. He watched as she played with Fang. He guessed she had a way with animals as she also did well with Hermione's cat Crookshanks.

"Always, Ginny's protector eh, Harry?" he heard Hagrid say over by the fireplace.

Harry looked up over at Hagrid leaning over the fireplace with a copper kettle in hand. Harry gaped at him, his facing turning warm. "Um…well…I," he stuttered out, but was interrupted by Ginny.

"Yeah, he has a thing for saving me from _fangs_."

Hagrid laughed full heartedly at this, making himself wince in the process.

Harry darted his eyes back and forth between them. _What in Merlin's name were they talking about?_ He felt like they were sharing an inside joke and he was the butt of it. He didn't even know Ginny was close enough with Hagrid to share inside jokes!

Harry came out of his confusion when he heard Ginny's voice. "Hagrid, you're hurt." Harry looked to see that she had moved over to Hagrid and was now gently touching one of the few untarnished spots on his face. Harry didn't know why but for some reason hearing her say, '_you're hurt_' gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Hagrid smiled at Ginny, once again wincing. He touched her small hand with his enormous hand tenderly moving it away from his face. "I told yeh it's _nuthin'!_" he said firmly.

That seemed to get Ginny's temper going. "_Nothing?"_ she snapped. "I suppose you think being trampled by a herd of hippogriffs is _nothing also!"_ Harry stared at her with wide, astonished eyes. She kind of reminded him of Mrs. Weasley, but even Mrs. Weasley seemed to pale in comparison to Ginny. He looked to Hagrid. It was a bit odd to see a man four times Ginny's size shrink before her. "You should take _better_ care of yourself!" Ginny continued. "There are a lot of people that _care_ about you and don't think it's just _nothing_!"

"It's…" Hagrid trailed off, seeming to know better than to use the word '_nuthin'_ again. "I'm fine, really! A litt' bit of restin' an' a coup' days of healin' an' I'll be fit as a forest troll! Yeh'll see!"

Harry stepped forward, standing next to Ginny. "Ginny is right, Hagrid!" he exclaimed. "_That_," he said gesturing towards Hagrid's face," is not nothing! What happened to you? How did you end up this way?"

"Would yeh two stop frettin' over me! I said I'm fine. Now go sat down, an' I'll make a cuppa tea for yeh!"

Harry reluctantly went over to sit at the table with Ginny. He watched Hagrid near the fire, grimacing as he thought about what could have possibly happened to him. Hagrid was going to tell him what happened, he wasn't going to leave this hut until he did! Harry glanced at Ginny, sitting beside him with her arms crossed. "And here I thought you were kidding about the temper thing," he said faintly.

Ginny glanced at him, sparks flying in her eyes. "I just get frustrated when the people I _care_ about, think them getting _hurt_ doesn't affect _other_ people, that's all."

Harry nodded silently. It would seem her temper hadn't completely died down yet. He looked down at the table wondering what was under that tea towel on the other side of the enormous table. Harry's eyes grew wide at what Ginny said next. "I'm jealous, Harry."

Harry whirled his head to the side, gaping at Ginny. "_W-what?"_

"It seems that Fang likes you better than me," Ginny said glancing down at his lap, her eyes now filled with amusement.

Harry looked down at his lap, just now noticing that Fang was resting his head there with drool trickling down his mouth. Harry winced, feeling his trousers all soggy with dog drool. "Oh, yeah…_lucky me_," he said dryly.

Ginny laughed making her eyes crinkle up. Harry soon started chuckling with her. He found that unlike Cho, when he was found dripping with some unsavory substance, Ginny didn't make him feel completely awkward about it. Though, he was still a little embarrassed; Ginny made him laugh about it.

Hagrid set three mugs of tea on the table and Harry reached forward to grab one but instead his hand collided with a soft, fair hand. He abruptly pulled back his hand as he felt something like an electrical shock. It would seem him and Ginny had been reaching for the same mug. "I-I'm sorry," he found himself stuttering out. "Go ahead."

Ginny took the mug and then he took the other one, taking a gulp of it.

Hagrid pulled the tea towel off the table to reveal a raw, green-tinted steak underneath. He took the steak slapping it onto the left side of his face, letting out a groan of relief. He then sat down joining them at the table. "Not of'en I see yeh two together," he said looking between Harry and Ginny with his right eye.

Harry looked down into his mug; slightly blushing as he was reminded of how he hadn't took much notice of Ginny. "Oh, well yes, Ginny and I have been hanging out more. We're great friends," he said glancing at Ginny hoping this was true. He was relieved to see her smiling.

Hagrid chuckled, holding up the steak against his face. "Tha's nice," he said, then took a drink from his mug.

"So tell us Hagrid, what happened to you?" said Harry.

Hagrid opened his mouth, to speak or protest again, Harry didn't know since a knock came at the door. "Hagrid, it's us!" he heard Ron and Hermione call out. Fang ran to the door barking wildly at the new visitors.

Hagrid shook his head, chuckling. "Shoulda known those two wouldn't be far behin' yeh, Harry!" He got up and walked towards the door opening it.

"Why do you have a slab of meat on your face, Hagrid?" Harry heard Ron's voice say.

Hagrid closed the door and then Ron pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of him and Hermione. Hermione walked up to the table smiling. "Harry! Ginny! There you two are!" she exclaimed. Harry looked down to see that she was holding the Marauder's Map.

Ron walked up to them, looking between Harry and Ginny. "We waited for you mate, but then we checked the Marauder's Map and saw you were already down here," he looked to his sister," _with Ginny_," he finished in a somewhat surprised tone.

Hermione screamed as Hagrid had lost his grip on the steak for a second, revealing the state of his face. Hermione quickly covered her mouth with her trembling hands. "I'm sorry," she gasped out, her eyes growing wide. "Oh, _Hagrid_!"

Soon all of them were sitting around the table drinking tea. Harry glanced around at his friends. It was different with Ginny there, as it was usually just him, Ron and Hermione. But like he said before, different wasn't necessary a bad thing, just _different_. Ginny made the room fill more complete, just like a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans wasn't complete without at least one treacle tart flavored bean.

All four of them finally got Hagrid to spill the beans on what he had been up to. It seems he had gone on a mission for Dumbledore with Madame Maxime up to the mountains to try to get the giants to side with them. His mission had been somewhat of a failure since no giants were coming, but he had given the giants Dumbledore's message and hopefully that did some good. Hagrid had yet to explain exactly how he had gotten his injuries when Umbridge came rapping at the door, crashing their little reunion. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron quickly scurried under the Invisibility Cloak for a very tight fit. Thankfully, Umbridge didn't notice them, but they were pretty sure Umbridge knew what Hagrid had been up to.

After Umbridge left, they all tried in vain to get Hagrid to tell them what he was planning for his classes. They all knew Umbridge was looking for any reason to give Hagrid the boot, and Hagrid's idea of an interesting class didn't _exactly_ meet Umbridge's standards.

They were all getting ready to leave when Hermione pointed out an important fact. "We can't possibly all fit under there," she said pointing at the Invisibility Cloak in Harry's hand," and walk without tripping over each other. We were _barely_ able to fit under there when Umbridge came. I think we should split into pairs, one using the Marauder's Map and the other the Invisibility Cloak."

"Fine, Ginny you can go with—" Ron started to say.

"Harry," said Hermione.

"Harry," said Ron, and then sharply turned to Hermione. "What _Harry_? I was going to say you!"

"Harry needs someone with him that knows the Obliteration Charm to cover up the tracks." Hermione tilted her head, pursing her lips. "You don't know the _Obliteration Charm_, do you, Ron?"

"No, but—"

"Ginny is smaller so she can fit under the Invisibility Cloak better." Hermione looked to Harry. "Ron and I will take the Marauder's Map, if we get caught we're more likely to get off with just a detention, _unlike_ you Harry."

Harry had to agree with Hermione's reasoning. He glanced down at his hand where he knew the words _I must not tell lies _were forever scarred into the back of his hand. He didn't fancy the thought of cutting the words _I must not sneak out_ on his other hand. But if Umbridge made Hermione or Ron use the blood quill… Oh, he wasn't going to _stand_ for it.

"Yeah, but—"Ron said trying to cut in again.

"Fine, then it's settled," said Hermione.

Harry walked down the corridors of Hogwarts with Ginny under his Invisibility Cloak. Ron and Hermione were still down at Hagrid's hut, he guessed, since Hermione wanted to try to get Hagrid to let her plan his lessons. Hermione had said for them to go on ahead. It later hit him that it would have been better for Ron and Hermione to follow them, so they could tell them if someone was coming and then Ron and Hermione could try and cram themselves under the Invisibility Cloak. He wondered why Hermione hadn't thought of that, but it was too late for that now.

It was much easier to move with Ginny, though. Harry glanced at Ginny with the cloak surrounding her. Her movements were graceful and precise, as if to make minimum noise. She clearly wasn't an amateur in sneaking out after hours. He wondered how many times she had snuck out and possibly with _whom_?

"_Harry," _Ginny whispered.

Harry looked into her brown eyes staring back at him in puzzlement. "_Yeah?" _he whispered.

"_Why did you suddenly stop?"_ she asked.

Harry suddenly became aware that he had stopped. "_Oh, I…well um…"_ Harry quickly shut his mouth as Filch came around the corner. He and Ginny held their breath as Filch walked closer towards them. They moved against the wall to get out of his way, causing Ginny to huddle close to Harry. Harry had to bite his tongue to keep from gasping outward at her proximity. She had not been this close to him last time they were under the cloak, as she had mostly been packed between Ron and Hermione. Harry felt a sudden sensation of _purring _in his stomach. He would have thought it was Mrs. Norris, but she was currently absent from her master's side.

Harry was very relieved once Filch left and took a deep breath. That was a _big_ mistake. His cloak had become a concentrated area of Ginny's scent and he just took a big whiff of it. Harry gulped, feeling a little lightheaded. What was going _on_? Was he coming down with something? Was that why it suddenly felt warm under the cloak?

It seemed like hours before they reached the portrait of The Fat Lady. Once they were there, Harry pulled the cloak off of them, in great need of some cool, fresh air to clear his head.

The Fat Lady gasped, holding her hand against her chest. "_Great Gryffindor_!" she cried out. "I'll never get used to people popping out of nowhere!"

Harry held his finger up against his lips. "_Ssshhh!"_

"Don't you _Ssshhh_ me young man!" The Fat Lady retorted, and then glanced at Ginny. "Been out for a bit of midnight snogging, have you?"

Harry's eyes widened, he glanced at Ginny feeling _very_ warm again. "_We weren't snogging!" _he furiously whispered. "_Let us in!"_

The Fat Lady raised her eyebrows.

"_Please_," Harry added.

"Password?"

"_Pumpkin juice_," Ginny interjected quickly.

Harry sat with Ginny on the sofa in the Common Room while they waited for Ron and Hermione to get back. He was having a hard time looking at Ginny, so he just stared ahead into the fireplace.

_Him and Ginny snogging?_ He wanted to laugh at the thought, but he didn't really find it funny. It wasn't really ridiculous that The Fat Lady had assumed they had been…err…_snogging_. After all, he was a boy and she was a girl. Harry glanced at Ginny looking at her profile. It wasn't hard to see why a bloke would be attracted to her, enough to be induced into the activity of snogging. Ginny was a great person and decent looking. She had long, soft-looking, tresses of brilliant red. Warm, brown expressive eyes. A fair nose with adorable freckles. Pink, plump, warm, soft-looking lips, and…._lips….soft-looking lips._

Harry promptly looked back ahead into the fireplace with bewildered eyes. _What was he doing? _Gaping at her _lips_? Harry started biting his own lips. Okay, so this was the first time he had ever looked closely at Ginny's face. It was _pleasant _looking and it was perfectly normal to want to look at something _pleasant _looking, right? Harry roughly exhaled through his nose. He didn't know why, but at the moment he felt like the idea of them snogging was a boggart that he simply couldn't raise his wand and yell _Riddikulus_ at.

Harry was saved from any further thoughts when Ron and Hermione entered the Common Room.

Harry stood up from the sofa. "How did it go?"

"He still _didn't_ get it!" cried out Ron.

Hermione sighed, her brow furrowing. "I _tried_; I really did," she said, shaking her head, "but Hagrid just wouldn't hear anything. I'm going to go back tomorrow. Perhaps he will understand better once he's fully rested." Her shoulders slumped forward, and her face looking weary. "I'm going to bed, good-night," she said then went up the stairs to her dormitory.

Ron took a couple steps towards Harry, glancing anxiously at him. "Hey, mate I heard about…about what _happened _today." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's all my fault, if I wasn't such a lousy player—"

"Harry's banishment doesn't have to do with you, Ron," Ginny cut in. "Umbridge would have found a way to ban Harry no matter what."

Harry didn't dare look in Ginny's direction in fear that he would gawk at her lips again, in her brother's presence. "Ginny is right, Ron. You just keep playing Keeper. I don't think the team can take losing another player."

Ron nodded, then handed Harry the Marauder's Map. Ron looked at Harry, and then at his sister sitting on the sofa. "Well, I'm heading up," he said, and then turned going up the staircase, but halted and glanced at them again before disappearing into the dormitory.

Harry heard the cushions move as Ginny got up from the sofa. "I think I'll go with Hermione tomorrow to Hagrid's. Hogwarts just isn't the same without him," he heard her say. Harry just nodded, looking down at the floor. He felt her move pass him. "Good-night, Harry."

"Yeah, good-night, Ginny," said Harry.

He just stood by the sofa as he heard the slight creaking of the stairs as she ascended them. Then he found himself crying out her name. "_Ginny!"_

The creaking stopped and he looked up to stare at her—not just her lips—on the stairs looking back at him. "I…I just wanted to say…" He paused, just looking at the girl that used to run away from him, but now had become someone that he was really glad stuck around. "I'm really glad we're great friends, now."

Ginny's warm, brown, expressive eyes lit up. "Me too, Harry. Me too."

Harry looked down, smiling to himself as he listened to the creaking of the steps until they stopped. He turned towards the sofa snatching up his cloak, ready to head to bed, but then a scent caught his nose. He sniffed his nose a little around the air, and then his eyes darted to his cloak. He threw it around himself, becoming invisible again. He sniffed again, his eyes going wide underneath the cloak.

It smelt like _her_ now.

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><p>Ginny walked down the stone walkway, glancing through the gaps of the arches at the snow covered grounds of the courtyard. She had an uneasy feeling. She had gone down with Hermione to Hagrid's hut on Sunday, but he still wouldn't let them help. She hoped everything had turned out alright in his class. Hagrid was a good friend of hers ever since she went down to his hut in her second year, confessed to him her involvement with the Chamber of Secrets and begged for his forgiveness. Hagrid had just smiled at her, made her a cup of tea, and provided an enormous shoulder to lean on.<p>

She wondered if she had offended Harry on Saturday by making light of the Chamber of Secrets incident with her "_fangs_" joke. He hadn't said anything and just looked on in distress. Then later that night in the Common Room he didn't seem to want to look at her. She hadn't meant to offend him. It's just that joking made it easier for her to deal with. Whether he was offended or not, he had obviously gotten over it when he told her that he was glad they were _great_ friends.

Ginny was happy that she was becoming a part of Harry's life as a great friend, even though she rather snog him like The Fat Lady suggested. Being his friend was much better than being that red-haired girl at the Burrow.

Speaking of her imaginary snogging mate, there he was sitting on the stone steps leading to the courtyard. Ginny stood behind him, looking out into the courtyard; it was no surprise that Cho Chang was in the general area.

"Hey, Harry," said Ginny.

Harry kind of jumped on the step, and then twisted around to look up at her. "Oh, hey Ginny."

"Mind if I join you?" asked Ginny.

Harry dusted off some snow on the step. "No, I don't mind."

Ginny sat down on the step beside him. "How did your class with Hagrid go?"

Harry sighed, running his hand through his hair, making it more tousled. She wondered if he knew how much she loved his hair all ruffled up. "It was _horrible_, Ginny," he moaned. "Umbridge came to inspect our class and kept shooting him down, and then _Malfoy_," he said with a clenched jaw," made it ten times worse!"

"Well, I was afraid of that, but it's no surprise rea—"

"Hey Ginny!" said a voice from behind her. She twisted around to look, as did Harry.

Ginny looked up at the boy standing behind her dressed in Ravenclaw colors. "Hey Michael!" she said, and then glanced to the side when she heard Harry faintly _huff_ beside her. He turned back around, looking out into the courtyard.

Ginny talked with Michael for a little bit. She thought he was a pretty nice bloke, and he always seemed to like her company. He was the first bloke to really make her feel like a _girl _and not just another Weasley. Her friends told her that he fancied her, but honesty she didn't know where her feelings stood for him. Once they were done talking, she said good-bye and then turned back around.

"So, what was I saying?" Ginny pondered aloud. "Oh, yeah, it doesn't sur—,"

"So, you hang out with him after class?" said Harry interrupting her.

Ginny stared at Harry, taken aback by his abruptness. "W-what?"

"Corner," he said. "I noticed that you're often paired with him during the meetings. So, you two _good_ friends?"

"Me and Michael? Yeah, we're friends."

Harry gave a nod then looked away in the direction of Cho Chang.

Ginny looked down at her lap, glanced at Harry, and then over to where Cho was talking with her friend, that seemed to be glued to her hip. "You really fancy her, don't you?" she said faintly, though the words had no _faint _affect on her heart.

Harry turned towards her. "Huh?"

Ginny nodded towards the Ravenclaw girl. "Cho."

Harry looked in the direction she nodded to, his eyes searching the courtyard. He gasped, and turned back to her. "Oh….um…well," he choked out awkwardly, his body fidgeting on the step.

"I think you should just tell her how you feel," Ginny said, surprising herself as she heard her voice echoing back into her ears. Harry seemed surprised as well. He sat still on the step, his full attention on her. "Because I think you'll regret it, if you don't," she finished. _There_, she had just hammered the nail into her own coffin. She didn't want Harry to be with Cho, but she wanted him to be happy, and _if _Cho made him happy, then he deserved that happiness. She sighed. _Merlin_, love bit like a Horntail Dragon.

Ginny looked up at Harry. He just continued to stare at her, not even blinking, she wasn't even sure if the boy was breathing. She looked around the courtyard and caught Cho glancing in their direction. "I suppose Cho thinks we're together."

"Well, yeah…because we are together."

Ginny turned to Harry, who seemed to have found his voice. "_W-what?"_ she cried out, gaping at him.

"We're sitting here together, right now," he said simply.

Ginny shook her head, making her hair whoosh around. "No, no! _Together_ as in a couple."

Harry's eyes widened, he looked down at the ground, averting his gaze. "_Oh_."

"It's a bit batty of her to think we're together, isn't it? I mean you with _me_? Ron's icky little sister?" Ginny laughed, trying to make a joke about it, even though at the moment her chest was aching. She wished she could blame it on the frigid air entering her lungs, but she knew the ailment lay in her heart.

But Harry didn't laugh at all. He just looked straight at her. "It's not batty," he said earnestly.

"It…_isn't_?"

"No, I mean you're a really great person, Ginny. It's not silly that some bloke," he paused, glancing down at his hands as he rubbed them together for warmth," would, you know…want to be with you."

Ginny sat there speechless. Of all the things Harry could have said, that was one she had not expected at all. She glanced down, her lips curving up against her will. She quickly covered it up, by pointing out another theory. "I think Cho also thinks you have a thing going on with Hermione."

Harry jerked his head back. "_W-what? _Why would she think _that_?"

"Because you and Hermione are always hanging out. Remember last year, everyone thought you two were going out because of that article in the Daily Prophet."

Harry's lips twitched trying to contain something, but then he snorted, busting out laughing, with his head bent forward. "Now that _is_ batty! _Me and Hermione!" _he gasped out through his rolls of laughter.

"It's batty that you and Hermione would be together, but," she leaned forward to see his face better, "…not you and me?"

The laughter tumbling out of his lips, died with a couple of withering laughs. He straightened up, looking ahead into the courtyard, his face constricted with thoughts. "Well, yeah because Hermione is like a _sister_ to me and you're like," he turned to her,"…like…a…like a _Bertie Bott Bean_."

Ginny shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm like _what?"_

"_Nothing," _he said tensely.

"I'm…_nothing_?"

"_No!_" he cried out, horrified._ "Blimey_, Ginny you're not nothing! I didn't say that, I said," he cut off. "I didn't say _anything_!"he exclaimed, and then got smacked in the chest with a snowball. "_Phff! Phff!"_ Harry spat out some snow that had gotten into his mouth.

"Sorry, Harry! We meant to hit our sister!" Fred and George called out on the other side of the courtyard.

Ginny stuck her tongue out at her brothers.

Harry jerked at his cloak, flinging off the snow. He stood up on the step. "Well, I'm going to head to the Great Hall for dinner." He turned towards the walkway, but then glanced behind his shoulder. "Are you coming, Ginny?"

Ginny sat on the step dumbfounded. "You don't _have_ to, of course," Harry said quickly, with his eyes glancing around, brow furrowing. "Yeah, well I'll see you la—"

"No," Ginny finally piped in. "I'll join you."

* * *

><p>Ginny rushed through corridors, dodging people like opposing Chasers in a match, her face lit up with an uncontainable smile. The adrenaline tingled to her fingertips fueling her sprint towards the Common Room. She was almost positive she would find him there. She wanted him to be the first to know.<p>

Ginny's heart skipped a beat when she spotted Harry in the Common Room, bent over the table working on his homework. He must have felt her gaze, because he glanced up. He did a double-take at her, blinking. "Don't…don't you look happy," he observed. "What happened, Ginny?"

Ginny took a deep breathing, exhaling. "I did it, Harry! I got the Seeker position!"

He gaped at her for a second, but then his face stretched out into a smile. "_Blimey, _Ginny! That's great! I knew you'd get it!"

Ginny sat down beside him at the table, eyeing him cautiously. "Really? You're not sore that I'm playing your position?" she asked double-checking.

Harry shook his head. "No," he paused, glancing down at his parchments. "I mean sure I'd love to still be playing, but I meant what I said that day at the pitch."

Ginny remembered that day well. She knew she shouldn't have pushed the subject of riding a broom,when he had just been banned from playing, but it frustrated her to see him just give up on something he truly loved doing. Harry would play again; she refused to never see that look of pure happiness on his face after a match again. She also remembered her words to him that day. _'No one can replace you, Harry.' _She couldn't believe she had said that to his face, but thank goodness the boy was so dense and had taken her as referring to his Seeker position.

"I feel like Christmas has come early for me," Ginny said, all a flutter over getting to play in a real match. "I can't wait until it actually comes! How about you, Harry?"

Harry kind of sighed, turning back to his parchment. He dipped his quill into his ink bottle, jabbing the excess ink off the quill and then made sharp, jerking, stroke marks on his parchment. "Yeah…I guess."

Ginny's jolly mood fell at his reply. Harry had kind of been in a sour mood lately; she didn't think that Ron or Hermione had noticed being as they were caught up with their many prefect Christmas duties. She didn't understand, she thought Harry would like spending Christmas with them at the Burrow. "You're not looking forward to Christmas, Harry?"

Harry glanced at her with an irritated gaze. "What's there to look forward to? I'm going to be stuck _here_."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "_Here?"_ she repeated, faintly. "But…," she tilted her head downward trying to get a better view of his face, "didn't…didn't Ron tell you?"

"Tell me what, Ginny?" said Harry, still bent over his homework.

Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. "Honesty, that brother of mine! Saying _he_ wanted to be the one to tell you and then he goes and…" she trailed off, noticing Harry's impatient gaze. "Mum invited you to the Burrow for Christmas! You're coming with us, Harry."

Harry gaped at her.

Ginny arched an eyebrow teasingly at him. "Unless you don't want to go…"

"_I want to go!"_ Harry blurted out. "_Blimey, _Ginny you have no idea how happy you've made me!"

Oh, but she did have an idea when he leaned over and gave her a hug. It was very short though, as he quickly pulled away looked bewildered by his actions, and glancing down at his stomach for some reason.

Soon after, Hermione entered the Common Room with Ron grumbling under his breath about tinsel, ribbons, first years, and wand duels. "Ron, why didn't you tell me I was invited over to the Burrow for Christmas?" Harry huffed out.

Ron looked at Harry, and then glared at his sister. "Ginny, I said I wanted to be the one to tell, Harry!"

"When were you planning on telling him, Ron?" said Ginny. "When we were at the Burrow, and you realized Harry wasn't there?"

Ron's ears turned red. "I was going to tell him…._soon_," he said lamely.

Ginny looked to Hermione and they both rolled their eyes.

Harry walked down the corridor towards the Room of Requirements, significantly more in the Christmas mood. Christmas at the Burrow, how the thought sent his dampened spirits soaring. Ginny had once again been just the flavor to pick up his spirits. He couldn't wait for Christmas! The only thing that could make it perfect was if Sirius could be there with him. He knew, however, there was a slim chance of that happening since Dumbledore probably wouldn't permit Sirius to leave Grimmauld Place. He felt guilty that his godfather had escaped Azkaban only to enter another prison.

When Harry entered the Room of Requirement no one was around because he was early. He was actually very thankful for this since no one but him saw the hundred golden baubles hanging from the ceiling with a picture of his face in each one, and the HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!

Harry had managed to take down the last of the baubles, when Luna entered the room. She looked around, her big eyes roaming over the remaining decorations with a dreamy stare. "These are nice, did you put them up?"

"No," said Harry," it was Dobby the house-elf that decorated the place.

"No one must have informed him about the nargles," Luna said dreamily, then pointed at something almost above Harry's head. "Mistletoe."

Harry jumped back from under it.

"Oh, I see you know about nargles," said Luna looking pleased. "Yes, nargles are often attracted to the leaves of mistletoe. They can make kissing rather uncomfortable, if they fall into your hair, or so my dad says," she paused, looking at him. "They're much worse than hennuts."

Harry never found of what Luna was talking about as he was approached by Angelina. She, Katie, and Alicia had just entered the room.

"Well," said Angelina dully, tugging off her cloak while looking at him, "we've replaced you."

Harry shrugged his shoulders, this being no surprise to him. "Yeah, I know," he said nonchalant.

Angelina threw her cloak into a corner, making a _thud_ as it hit the wall. "_You know?"_

"Yeah, Ginny told me."

Angelina almost reminded him of Malfoy, with the way she was looking at him with that sneer on her face. "You don't seem very bothered that someone else has your position," she said, glaring at him. "Not that sore over getting banned, are you?"

"_I didn't want to get banned!_" Harry snapped at her. "But there's nothing I can do about it now, and Ginny isn't just 'someone else'. She's my friend, and she's a pretty good player."

"Yeah, she is," Angelina agreed. "Not as good as you, but obviously we can't have—"

"Yeah, well Ginny said herself that she'd rather play as a Chaser," said Harry interrupting her.

Harry quickly got away from Angelina as the room started filling up with all the members of the D.A., though he could still feel her sulking looks over the crowd. He decided it would be best to go over things they had done before, instead of starting something new right before their break. Only Zacharias Smith seemed to not like this, but Fred made a joke about it, and everyone laughed—including Cho and Ginny. He wasn't sure which one stood out the most.

"We should practice in pairs," Harry instantly regretted saying that once he saw Corner walk up to Ginny. "We'll work on the _Impediment Jinx_, just for ten minutes, then move on to some _Stunning _with the cushions."

Soon everyone was paired, and Harry worked with Neville. He had to admit, Neville was really starting to improve, and it just made him happier that he was helping out his friend. Later, Neville worked with Hermione and Ron, as Harry started doing his rounds to see how everyone was doing. When he passed Cho she smiled at him, which made him feel nice. He kept himself from walking pass her again, but he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with checking on Ginny and Corner once—or twice. Corner was…err…_okay_…he _guessed_. He still thought she could do better, with a different partner.

After ten minutes, everyone moved on to _Stunning_, and Harry felt very proud, for it was evident that they were all greatly improving. He told this to all of them when the hour was up and also that he felt that they were ready for some bigger stuff, such as Patronuses. This was met with great excitement.

Everyone then started leaving by twos and threes, until all that remained was him and Cho. Harry pretended to be occupied with some cushions, while he gathered up his thoughts. He didn't really know why he had stayed behind, other than to possibly receive a Merry Christmas from Cho. He began to think about what Ginny had told him; to just tell Cho how he felt. He had been a little more than surprised by Ginny's advice. It was almost as if she had been persuading him to get with Cho. For some reason, it was unsettling to him, but also made him think. Tell Cho how he felt? What should he say? _Cho, I fancy you because you're pretty and…um…well, you're in Ravenclaw so you must be smart too, and…um…you're a Seeker…and…?_ Why _did_ he fancy Cho? He had never really thought about it. She made his stomach flip…but not as much as she used to, he realized. Cho was still attractive, but he felt like something had changed.

A big hearty sniff brought him out of his thoughts. He turned around and spotted Cho in the middle of the room, tears pouring down her face, pattering to the floor.

He glanced at the door. Maybe he should leave? He glanced back at Cho, feeling somewhat guilty at just walking out on her. "Are…are you okay?" he asked weakly. Well, that was a stupid question, she obviously wasn't okay.

Harry's question lead to the discussion of Cedric. It didn't really surprise him that she wanted to talk about Cedric. He didn't really want to talk about that, he couldn't really give her any closure, other than telling her Cedric was a skilled, but in the end he just hadn't made it. He wasn't heartless, he could understand how someone dying was hard to deal with, but really he just wanted to forget about Cedric's death. Was that so wrong of him? To want to have a conversation with a girl and feel happy instead of miserable, like he was now? Would Cho always be thinking about Cedric in the corner of her mind when they were together?

"Mistletoe," Cho suddenly said, pointing up at the ceiling over his head.

"Yeah," said Harry. How had he ended up underneath that again? "There's probably nargles in it."

"Nargles?" Cho asked, with her brow furrowing.

"I don't really know what they are," said Harry, realizing Cho was _really_ close to him. Much _too_ close. Was…was she going to _kiss_ him? He found himself frozen with the thought, not being able to move.

"I really like you, Harry," said Cho.

"_Harry, I fancy you_."

Harry felt his heart jolt, as he heard Ginny's voice echoing in his mind, awakening his stunned brain. Suddenly he was struck with a strong urge to step back, but it was too late. Cho's lips were already upon his.

* * *

><p><em>Please review! Thank you, writetress<em>


	6. Eye of the Snake and Belly of the Beast

_A/N: I'm sorry, this took much longer than I thought it would. I will probably be busy this month, but I will still try to work on my stories. Thank you dearly for all your feedback and reviews! They all make me so happy, and I just hope you continue to enjoy the story! Happy Holidays everyone! May your December be filled with much mistletoe-minus the Nargles and crying...of course!_

_I also would like to give a thank you to my Betas Spenser Hemmingway and Ginny Guerra for pointing out all my mistakes in this chapter!_

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: I do <strong>not<strong> own Harry Potter...maybe J.K. Rowling will give him to me for Christmas? No, I'll probably get maggots._

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**SIX**

_In the Eye of the Snake and Belly of the Beast_

* * *

><p>It was wet.<p>

The kiss with Cho had been like taking a sip from a salty water fountain. He guessed it had been salty because of her _tears_. Now he wasn't like a girl expecting there to be fireworks, or angels singing, or whatever girls dreamed about in a kiss. But was that _it_? He thought kisses were supposed to feel something _other_ than wet. Wasn't that why kisses were anticipated in Muggle movies? Why half the student population spent a good amount of their time in broom cupboards? It didn't make sense. He felt gypped, like a kid finding out that the Mall Santa was just their garbage man in a fake beard working his second job.

Other than not making sense, it hadn't felt…_right_. Also, another thing that was greatly bothering him was why he had heard Ginny's voice in his head just before the kiss happened?

"_Harry, I fancy you."_

Harry halted in the corridor, placing his hand over his chest where his heart beat underneath. There it was again. That _jolt_ in his heart, every time he thought about Ginny's words that fateful day in the Room of Requirement. Since when had those words had an effect on his heart? They seemed to have been spoken so long ago, but really it hadn't been _that_ long.

Dimples formed on Harry's face, as he smiled down at the floor. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but it felt really _good_ to be fancied by a girl—a girl like _Ginny_. Well, at least she _used_ to fancy him. Harry glared at the floor. She seemed more interested in _Corner _now. She had even _persuaded_ him to confess to Cho. Why did that bother him so much?

Harry continued down the corridor with his bothered thoughts, and then entered the Common Room, sitting down in his favorite armchair, near where Ron and Hermione were.

"Hey mate, what took you so long?" said Ron, looking to him.

Harry didn't want to tell them about what had just happened to him. He just wanted to forget about it. _Really_, he was half-tempted to get someone to oblivate him. Unfortunately, one of his best friends was a very clever witch who seemed to have an uncanny ability to figure out things.

"Was it Cho?" Hermione said, eyeing him with her lips twisted in speculation. "Did you two kiss?"

Ron jolted up, hitting his knee against the table. He grimaced, but didn't take his attentive eyes from Harry. "_Kiss? _Did you Harry?"

Harry gaped at Hermione, his brow furrowing. "How did you…?" he trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

"Well, just that look on your face," said Hermione, shrugging her shoulders," the fact that you and Cho were one of the last ones there, and the large quantity of mistletoe everywhere."

"So, you _did_ kiss?" Ron exclaimed.

Harry vaguely nodded, but then suddenly turned around in the armchair, glancing behind. His eyes darted everywhere, scanning the Common Room with an anxious, almost guilty look. "Where's Ginny?" he asked uncertain, still searching. "Is…is she here?"

He really didn't want Ginny to overhear this conversation, though he didn't know why. He also vaguely wondered if she was still with _Corner _somewhere.

"_Who cares where Ginny is!" _Ron bellowed, getting impatient. "_Was that a nod? Did you kiss_?"

Harry whirled back around in the armchair, glaring at Ron. "_Yes!" _he furiously whispered. "_Yes, we kissed…but Cho came at me! She was crying and it was wet…I don't want to talk about it!"_

Ron frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Crying? Wet?"

Harry fell back into the armchair, seeping down into the cushion. "_Yes_," he groaned, burying his face into his hands. "Cho came at me under the mistletoe and kissed me while she was crying….it was _wet_…_end of story." _

Hermione dipped her quill into her ink bottle. "She must have been crying about Cedric," she said, scribbling some words down on her parchment. "That's all she does nowadays," she paused in her writing. "She must feel rather conflicted." She glanced up at Harry. "Are you going to meet with her again?"

Harry opened his fingers, to peer out of his hand. "Why would I want to _repeat_ that?"

"Yeah, don't be _daft _Hermione," Ron said, his nose scrunched up in disgust. "Why would Harry want to kiss a girl that cries all over him?" He looked to Harry. "She's pretty, mate, but no girl is worth the waterworks."

Hermione clenched her jaw, as she looked at Ron with a _did-you-just-call-me-daft_ look. "Well, excuse me!" she scoffed. "I just thought Harry _fancied _Cho Chang! Please, correct me if I'm _wrong_."

Harry lowered his hands from his face, just sitting there in somewhat of a thoughtful trance. Then finally something left his bewildered mouth. "_I don't."_

Hermione and Ron turned their heads to him. "You don't?"

Harry slowly shook his head. "I mean I still think she's pretty…but _liking_ her?" He bit his lip in concentration. "_I don't think I do," _he said, astonished.

"Well, I guess I'm wrong then," said Hermione, though she didn't look upset at being wrong for once. She had a rather smug smile on her lips that she tried to hide behind her parchment.

Ron arched his head, trying to catch a glimpse at her parchment. "Who are you writing to anyway?"

"Victor," Hermione said simply.

"_Krum?"_

As Hermione and Ron went silent going about their own things, Harry sat in the armchair, his mind occupied with pressing matters. It wasn't until his kiss with Cho that he had started to realize that his feelings for her had been lessening, without his acknowledgement. They had been melting away like a snowball, until all that remained was a wet, sloppy mess.

Harry thought he should feel more heartbroken, but in truth he didn't. He realized he hadn't really known Cho well enough to form a _deep_ attachment that hurt when detached. He felt a little disappointed, but that's all. He was mostly just dumbfounded that his dream of kissing Cho had finally came true, only to be slapped with a bucket of tears to be woken up.

Later on Harry headed towards the boys' staircase with Ron. He was only vaguely aware of Ron complaining about Krum beside him. He just gave nods and _uh-huhs, _which seemed to satisfy Ron. After putting on his pajamas, Harry got into bed and said night back to Ron.

As he started to feel his eye-lids grow heavy with sleep, his last conscious thought was that he hoped Cho wouldn't approach him about the kiss.

Harry looked around as he suddenly found himself three-inches deep in snow, standing in the courtyard. "How did I get here?" he asked himself aloud.

_Smack!_

Harry choked out snow, furiously wiping at his mouth. Someone had just smacked him right in the mouth with a snowball. His eyes snapped up to glare at the culprit. "_What the—" _he started to yell, but then his voice died as he saw the person standing ahead. "_C-Cho?"_

He couldn't believe it; Cho had just smacked him in the mouth with a snowball. His mouth now felt wet, much like after the kiss.

Cho stared at him, her eyes red and puffy. "You'd much rather kiss Hermione's lips, wouldn't you!" she shrieked at him, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Harry cringed at the sight of her tears. "That's _ridiculous_, I—"

Cho interrupted him, narrowing her eyes. "No, _Ginny's _lips," she scoffed, raising her hand to point at something behind him. "Well, go on then, she's right there."

Harry whirled around, looking frantically at the empty courtyard before him. _Ginny? _What was Cho talking about? He didn't see Ginny anywhere…_Aaahhh!_

Harry jumped back, holding onto his chest. Ginny had just popped out from underneath his Invisibility Cloak.

Ginny tilted her head, studying him. "Is that true, Harry?" Her eyes roamed over his face, as if trying to detect a lie. "You want to snog just like the Fat Lady said?"

"I...um...I…" Harry found himself unable to speak, as his eyes kept absentmindedly flickering to her lips. Then he was propelled forward by a nudge from behind, sending him colliding into Ginny.

He stumbled back from Ginny, his eyes wide. "Blimey, I'm sorry, Gin—," he cut off, as he heard a hearty laugh from behind him. He turned around to see Hagrid standing in the snow.

"It's nuthin', Harry," said Hagrid smiling down at him. "Just pucker up an' lean forward."

Face turning red, Harry's jaw fell as he looked back and forth between Hagrid and Ginny. "_W-what?"_

"_Mistletoe_."

Harry glanced over in the direction the whimsical voice came from to see Luna pointing at something above his head. "Harry, beware of the Nargles…._beware_," Luna whispered.

He looked up to see mistletoe materializing from thin air, right above Ginny and him. His eyes plummeted to meet Ginny's vivid brown eyes staring back at him. He gulped. His breathing increased, as his eyes kept darting to Cho, Hagrid, and Luna in an endless cycle.

"Harry."

His eyes landed on Ginny as she spoke his name. She smiled at him, making those soft-looking lips curved up. He began to wonder if they felt as soft as they looked. Then Cho, Hagrid, and Luna no longer existed, only the feeling of his eyes drooping close and the beautiful redhead girl before him.

"What are you doing with my baby sister, mate?"

Harry's eyes flew open, glancing to see Ron now standing next to him with a murderous glare. "_N-nothing!" _he choked out.

Ginny smiled wider, turning to her brother. "It's alright, Ron. I don't fancy Harry anymore." She turned back to Harry, looking him straight in the eye. "_I fancy Michael."_

It was suddenly hard to breathe, the very words knocking the air out of him. Harry stood stunned, his lips trembling as he tried to form words. "_What?" _

Then everything changed, he _changed_ from a simple, confused teenage boy into something powerful, strong, and smooth.

He slid on his belly feeling the cold stone of the floor. There was a man ahead, his head hung as he slept. Harry felt the temptation to pierce the man's flesh with his fangs, to feel the man's heartbeat as his blood gushed out…a purely predatory urge. He resisted it…he was on a mission….but his plans changed in an instant as the man awoke, wand in hand. He had no choice but to give into his previous temptation. Fangs jabbed flesh, once, twice, three times. The man slumped into the wall…blood was splattering everywhere rapidly.

"HARRY!"

Harry jolted up in bed, gasping for breath. His head was swimming in a madhouse of pain; he could barely make out the outline of Ron standing over him. The smell and sight of the blood in his dream make his stomach flitch in disgust. Everything came up, burning against his throat; he vomited over the side of his bed.

"H-He's really sick," a voice stuttered out. "We…we should get help."

"Harry! Harry what's wrong?" Ron cried out alarmed.

Harry struggled to concentrate through the blinding pain. He…he had _bit_ someone….he _knew_ that man. He reached up, his hand in a frenzy of tremors, to grab Ron's nightshirt. "Y-your dad!" he panted through his hyperventilating breathes. "He's…he's in trouble…been bitten…there was blood everywhere…"

"I'm going for help," said the voice again, hurrying out of the room.

"Harry, mate," said Ron, uneasily. "Settle down…it was just a dream…that's all."

Harry blinked as some sweat fell into his eyes. "_Listen to me!"_ he demanded, "it wasn't a dream…I was…there was a huge snake…your dad is in trouble…we need to find him…"

* * *

><p>Everything after that was a living nightmare, Professor McGonagall had taken Ron and Harry to Dumbledore's office. Harry's suspicions that he had been the snake that attacked Mr. Weasley were growing firmer by the minute, and Mr. Weasley's chances of surviving, slimmer. He listened helplessly as the portraits in Dumbledore's office said Mr. Weasley had been found and reported how he looked.<p>

Harry didn't need to hear it, he _saw_ it…he _did_ it.

Harry stared ahead at Ron, his freckles standing out greatly against his ghostly pale face. He shouldn't be here, fearing for his dad's life. Harry felt ready to heave again, all over the carpet with his foul guilt. He narrowed his eyes over to where Dumbledore was instructing the portraits. Dumbledore knew something, something he wasn't telling him. Why wouldn't he _tell_ him? Was he afraid of him?

Harry gripped the armrest of a chair, letting out a frustrated sigh. At that moment, his nightmare became complete as Fred, George, and Ginny entered the office with Professor McGonagall. Ginny rushed up to him in her nightclothes, her hair tousled, and her eyes frantic, not asleep and dreaming sweet dreams like they should. "Harry, what's happened?" she cried out. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt!"

Harry looked away, not being able to meet her eyes. At that moment her gaze was Veritaserum to him, surely if he looked into their depths, all his secrets would spill forth. _Your dad is hurt, possibly dying, and it's all my fault! I bit him, I watched him bleed! _That's what he would blurt out, and then she would _hate_ him. He squeezed his eyes shut. Bloody hell, he _hated_ himself.

Instead, Dumbledore informed them that their father had been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix. Harry gave a bitter laugh inside. _Injured?_ More like _mortally wounded_.

Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny quickly gathered around Dumbledore's desk to touch the kettle that had been turned into a Portkey that would take them to Sirius's house. Everything was happening so fast; in a turmoil of emotions, but then, for a fraction of a second everything slowed down as Dumbledore's gaze met Harry's face.

Surging pain shot through Harry's scar, and that tempting urge returned. He stared at Dumbledore, feeling the snake stick out its fangs, ready to sink them into flesh again. In that fraction of time, he wanted to _attack _Dumbledore. Then time sped up again as he felt a pull at his navel, and the Portkey took him to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Upon arriving, Sirius greeted them in his disheveled state. It was then that Harry had to explain again to everyone about his…vision. He altered the story slightly to make it seem like he had watched the snake attack from a different point of view, and not through the snake's own eyes. The rest of the long, grueling hours at the house consisted of George and Fred glaring at Sirius because he wouldn't allow them to go to St. Mungo's, and just waiting…waiting to know Mr. Weasley's fate.

Finally, at ten past five in the morning, there was a crack in the nightmare as the kitchen door swung open to reveal Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley was going to be alright. How those words felt like a pardon from a looming death sentence, but it still did not erase the uncertainty, the guilt Harry was feeling. He was still walking through a living nightmare wondering if the snake—_he_—would attack again.

Sirius started preparing breakfast now that everyone's appetite had returned. Mrs. Weasley was in a good mood with the news of her husband's recovery and Sirius's warm welcome for them to stay for Christmas. Neither the prospect of Christmas nor breakfast really helped Harry's mood, and it sank even lower when Mrs. Weasley took him into a hug, _thanking_ him for practically saving Mr. Weasley's life.

Harry pulled aside Sirius, to have quiet word in the dark room of the pantry. He couldn't take it anymore, he needed to tell someone. So there in the confinements of the pantry, he revealed everything to Sirius, describing his vision, how he had taken part in it as the snake itself, and how he had felt like attacking Dumbledore just before arriving there.

Sirius just brushed it aside. "You're just shaken up Harry. You're worrying about it too much."

Harry turned away, taking a step out of the pantry. No one would listen to him! Why couldn't they understand that this wasn't just something that would go away? He had felt like a _snake_, he felt like there was a snake _inside_ him somewhere ready to attack. This wasn't just some bloody indigestion!

Before Harry could fully walk away, a hand took him by the shoulder pulling him back into the pantry. Harry tilted his head up at Sirius wondering what else he could have to say.

"_Hey_…so did you end up going on a date with Ginny?" Sirius asked. Through the slit of light entering the pantry, Harry could see the vigor of youth enter his godfather's worn, sullen eyes. "I noticed how she glanced at you a couple of times through the night."

Harry gaped at Sirius, his eyes narrowing in outrage; it flared up his temper that his godfather took a greater interest in his dates than his present dilemma. "Sirius, how can you…" It was then that some of Sirius's words hit him. "_Ginny was glancing at me?_" he said faintly, but then blinked, shaking his head. "What _am I_ saying?" he cried out, turning his sharp gaze back at Sirius. "After this whole ordeal we just went through…and you ask me _that_?"

Sirius put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Harry, you're going to drive yourself mad if that's all you focus on. Take it from me, who spent years around Dementors. You have to think about happy things too." He let his hands fall back to his sides. "Now, how did it go?"

Harry huffed, but then his eyes widened. With everything going on he had almost forgotten about his dream _before_ the snake attack; the dream of Ginny and him together in the courtyard, under _mistletoe_. At the moment he was glad for the poorly lit room.

Sirius chuckled. "Why, Harry, are you blushing?"

Apparently it wasn't dim enough in there. "It…it was fine," Harry choked out. _Blast it!_ Why was he stuttering? He cleared his throat, speaking in a more even voice. "I had a really nice time on our play date together."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Why did you just say "play" date?"

"Because that's what we had, a play date."

There was a slight _slap _as Sirius buried his face into his hand. "_Oh_, Harry you didn't!" he moaned, and then started mumbling. "_James, forgive me I have failed your son in the ways of wooing,"_ he sighed. "Harry, asking a girl on a _play_ date, doesn't exactly sweep a girl off her feet, next time you should—"

Harry cut in before Sirius could continue._ "_Ginny and I are just…." His voice faltered. He looked down at the floor. "…_just friends_." Harry just stood silent for a moment, and then slightly raised his head. "Sirius, can I ask you something…about kissing?"

"I thought you just said Ginny and you were _just friends_?" Sirius annoyingly pointed out.

Harry had to force himself not to think about Ginny, as the image of her under the mistletoe popped into his mind. "_No_, not Ginny!" he hissed out. "Some…some other girl kissed me!"

"_Oh,_ there's _another_ girl?" Sirius said with keen interest. "And _she_ kissed you? How was _it_?"

"Wet," Harry deadpanned.

"Um…it was wet and…?" Sirius left the sentence hanging hoping Harry would add on something else.

"It was wet and…" Harry sighed,"…_wet_. Please, tell me that's not how kisses are _supposed_ to be," he said horrified by the thought of all kisses feeling _wet_.

"Err…_no_," Sirius assured him. "It sounds like maybe there's just no spark, no real attraction between you and this girl. Or possibly it was just a _very_ badly timed kiss, maybe if you tried it again with her—"

"_No!_" Harry snapped out. "I don't want to try it with her _again_." He looked down, scuffing his feet against the floor. "I think you're right about there being no spark. It was kind of like when I first got my wand. All the others just didn't feel _right_, but when I held my wand, sparks flew everywhere, and I just _knew_ this was my wand," Harry glanced up awkwardly in the dark. "Is…is that kind of what you meant by a spark?"

"Yes, I would say so."

"So, what is a kiss _supposed _to feel like?" Harry asked. Though he was embarrassed, he couldn't deny his curiosity.

"Well, it's different for everyone, but a kiss is generally supposed to feel pleasurable, and warm, almost overwhelmingly." Sirius paused, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "Harry, the best way I can explain it is… Tell me, what is something you enjoy doing more than anything else in the world? What makes you happy?"

Harry thought about his lifetime ban. "_Playing Quidditch,"_ he said miserably.

"A kiss…well, actually _snogging_," Sirius mumbled, then shook his head,"…no, _a kiss_ is supposed to feel _better _than Quidditch."

Harry stared skeptically at Sirius in the dark. Flying through the open sky with adrenaline pulsing through your veins as you reached for the Snitch, and then landed as people cheered around you in joyous victory. A kiss was supposed to feel _better_ than all of that? He highly doubted it.

Sirius seemed to sense his disbelief. "You'll see, Harry," he grinned. "One day, you'll see."

After breakfast everyone but Harry spent the morning catching up on sleep. Harry glanced across the bedroom he shared with Ron. The redhead was already asleep, exhausted from last night's events.

Harry was exhausted as well. His eyes were heavy, begging to be closed, but he was afraid like a werewolf to the moon. Sleep was his full moon, and he would not fall under its murderous, uncontrollable, ravenous pull. He would not wake up to find he had attacked someone else.

Harry let out a soft groan. The muscles in his neck were stiff from being hunched against the bedstead. He glanced across the room, and then started getting out of bed, cautious not to wake up Ron. He then crept down the stairs towards the basement, and into the kitchen in pursuit of some coffee.

Upon entering the kitchen, there was no evidence of morning. The room was silent, and any trace of morning light seemed to be devoured by the gloom that encased Grimmauld Place. Harry walked across the kitchen and started searching through the worn-out, scratched cupboards and then the pantry. He couldn't find any coffee. Maybe some _strong_ tea would do?

He started a little fire in the large fireplace at the far end, and then placed a kettle over it to boil some water. As he waited, Harry paced the kitchen, keeping himself awake, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Then, when it was done, he served himself some tea and sat down at the table, taking a big gulp hoping the caffeine would kick in.

Just as he took another big gulp, the kitchen door cracked open.

Harry spattered some tea out, staring at the person standing on the threshold. "_G-Ginny?"_

"_Harry?_" said Ginny, her voice soft and drowsy with sleep. She let out a little yawn. "What are you doing, here?"

"I…I wanted some tea," Harry said, lamely holding up his teacup. "W-what are _you_ doing, here?"

"I was feeling a bit thirsty, thought I'd get some water," Ginny said, walking over to a cupboard, pulling out a glass and getting some water from the sink.

Harry's eyes widened as she walked towards the table, and he realized she was going to _join_ him. He wanted to scream at her to run away and lock her door. But once Ginny pulled out a chair and sat across from him, he found he couldn't say a thing. Just her presence comforted him, and it wasn't until now that he realized how much he had missed her company. He sat quietly drinking his tea, conflicted with his emotions.

He glanced at Ginny as she drank her water. She was still in her nightclothes, her hair messy and untamed, her face peaked, and her eyes red and puffy. She definitely looked disheveled, but oddly enough she made _disheveled_ look kind of _nice_. He looked down into his tea, as he unwillingly remembered his dream again. The Ginny from his dreams had said that she no longer fancied him; she said she fancied _Corner _now. Was that…_true_?"

"Harry, are you angry with me?"

Harry snapped his head up. "_Angry_?" he repeated faintly. "Blimey, Ginny, no!" He shook his head, his brow furrowing. "I'm not angry with you. Why would I be?" _You're the one that should be furious with me_, he felt like saying.

Ginny stared at him, a little crease forming on her forehead. "It's just now, you looked kind of angry."

It's probably because he was thinking about _Corner._ Harry raised his hand to his forehead. "Oh, I just got a headache that's all," he said, which wasn't a _complete_ lie, being sleep-deprived will do that.

Ginny leaned forward in her chair, her eyes searching his face in concern. "Does…does it hurt a lot? Do you need anything?"

Harry blinked at the tenderness in her voice. He glanced down feeling unworthy of her concern. "No, it's nothing, Ginny. I'm fine."

Ginny scooted back into her chair and gripped her empty glass, staring at it. "Mum told me how if you hadn't told them about your vision, Dad might have...," she cut off, taking a breath,"…_died._" She looked up, her eyes raw with emotion. "Harry—"

"_Don't," _Harry croaked out. "Don't look at me like _that_."

"Like what?"

"Like…I'm some type of _hero_."

Ginny tilted her head, her eyebrows knitting together. "Why not?"

"Because…" Harry gripped his teacup, making it tremble," I'm just _not_," he snapped. "_I'm the reason_...," he voice wavered,"…you couldn't even go to St. Mungo's, because Sirius was afraid it would draw attention to me."

"Harry?"

Harry exhaled roughly. "Yeah?"

"_Shut up_."

Harry almost knocked over his teacup. "_W-what?" _he stuttered out. He had not expected Ginny to say that at all, much less to see that spark of temper in her worn-out features.

"Did you _want _to see that snake attack my dad?" Ginny asked straightforward.

Harry shook his head violently. "No, I didn't—"

"Then just _stop_," Ginny breathed, her eyes pleading, "…stop blaming yourself for having things thrown on you that you never wanted." The chair screeched against the floor as she got up from it, and then walked across the kitchen, placing the glass in the sink. She turned to look at him with a gaze that demanded attention. "I don't know, what's going on with you, but once you realize there's other people in this house, and that you don't have to deal with things alone, my door is the third door on the second floor."

Ginny walked towards the kitchen door, pushing it open, but then paused with her hand on the door. She glanced back at him. "You're wrong, you know," she said. "I wasn't looking at you like a hero. I was looking at you, Harry," she glanced down at her slippers, sighing. "_Just Harry."_

With that she was gone; the only sound that could be heard was the swinging of the kitchen door. Harry looked down into his teacup, and then glanced up at the door. Ginny's room was the third door on the second floor. "_That's what I'm afraid of_."

He would not allow this snake to go to Ginny's room, or anywhere else.

* * *

><p>Harry leaned against the corridor wall in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody had escorted the Weasleys and him here to visit Mr. Weasley. While Harry had been very relieved to see Mr. Weasley sitting up in bed in good spirits, he quickly felt like he didn't belong there in Mr. Weasley's room. So when everyone was occupied talking to Mr. Weasley, Harry snuck away out into the corridor, hoping no one would notice his absence. He gave the excuse to Tonks and Moody that he was going to find a loo.<p>

That's how Harry found himself now leaning against some wall, in one of the many corridors of St. Mungo's. He had just wandered down the corridor, wanting to be alone. He glanced at the floor guide on the adjacent wall, wondering if he should check himself in, but none of his symptoms really fit any of the categories. He slightly turned his head to gaze down the long corridor where witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked back and forth, disappearing into different corridors. He looked at the sign in the distance "Creature-Induced Injuries." He really didn't want to go back there, back to that small and dingy ward, back to the den of his guilt. He sighed, knowing he couldn't prolong it any longer.

When Harry pushed open the doors to the "Creature-Induced Injuries" he was startled to find Ginny standing in a little nook of the corridor.

She was crying.

He rushed up to her side, his eyes heightened with panic. "_G-Ginny_," he choked out. "What…what's wrong?" He took a quick glance down the corridor. "Is it your dad?" he blanched. "Did he suddenly get _worse_?"

Ginny looked up, staring at him with red and puffy eyes. "_Harry_," she gasped, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed her nose, giving a weary smile. "No, no," she shook her head. "Dad's fine."

Harry's shoulders slumped forward. "_Oh_," he glanced at her warily. "Then why are you..." he awkwardly gestured towards her face. "Um…never mind."

"I know it's silly, but just seeing Dad here, knowing that he's _alright_," Ginny sniffed, inhaling a shaky breath. "I'm just so _happy_, and relieved, and—" her voice caught in her throat, her eyes watering. "_Bugger_," she cursed, wiping at her eyes. "I…I usually don't cry like this."

Harry glanced down at his shoes. "It's…it's understandable," he stuttered out. "He's your dad and all."

He glanced back up at her, slightly cringing at the sight of tears. It reminded him all too much of his Cho incident; he almost had the urge to escape down the corridor, but then he looked again. It was then he saw past the tears, and saw her face. This wasn't Cho, this was Ginny. He _wanted_ to be there for her, just like she had been there for him during the early hours of the morning, even though it was unintentional.

Harry hesitantly reached out his hand, flexing his fingers, his mouth twisting in discomfort. He wasn't quite sure where he should lay his hand. Finally, he awkwardly rested his hand on her shoulder, patting it softly.

"Harry, where were you?" said Ginny, weakly.

Harry looked down at her. "Huh?"

"I looked around Dad's ward, but you were gone."

Harry glanced away. "Ginny, I…I just don't _belong_—" The rest of his words completely vanished from his mind, as Ginny suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.

Her chin rested snug against his shoulder. "I know you don't want to hear it," she said, softly into his ear, "but…thank you, _thank you, Harry_."

At the moment, Harry's mind didn't have the capacity to feel guilt over the underserved gratitude, not when her warm breath against his ear was making his stomach flip like there were Cornish pixies going haywire in there. He had never been this close to Ginny for so long. Usually, their hugs were sweet and quick. This hug, on the other hand was anything but quick. Her body nestled against his felt so warm and soft, and her hair intoxicated him with that amazing flowery scent…

It was all quite _overwhelming_. His heart started pounding, his hands perspiring heavily, and then he felt that _purring_ growing louder in his stomach, until it was as though something, a creature was soaring inside him, having fully awakened.

Harry pushed Ginny away from him, sending her stumbling back.

"_H-Harry?_" Ginny choked out, completely stunned by his actions. He didn't blame her; he had just pushed her away, not hard, but still. She tilted her head, staring at him. "Harry…are you _okay_?"

Harry breathed deeply, as if trying to catch his breath. "_Yes!"_ he gasped out.

Ginny took at step forward, eyeing him in concern. He took a step back, colliding into the wall. "I'm…I'm f-fine!" he said, his voice cracking. "I just…I just…_I gotta go!"_ he said, then sprinted through the doors back out into the corridor he had come from.

Once he was sure Ginny wasn't following, he leaned his back against the wall and slid down to the floor. "What is _wrong_ with me?" he cried out, eyes darting around in frenzy. First he had felt like a _snake_ and now he felt like there was some _beast_ inside his stomach!

Harry roamed the hospital aimlessly, his face scrunched up, mumbling quietly to himself about snakes and beasts. After some consideration, he decided that the snake and the beast were two completely _different_ feelings. The snake was a threatening, invading presence that he wanted gone. While the beast was a presence he had been feeling vaguely for a while, and it felt like a part of him, nothing foreign, it had actually felt kind of _pleasant_.

Harry glanced up, looking for the first time where he was at. He spotted a sign "Spell Damages" then his eyes dropped down to the double doors and a very familiar face pressed up against the glass.

"_Blimey…P-Professor Lockhart!" _

Lockhart pushed opened the doors, and walked towards Harry, wearing a lilac dressing gown and his award-winning smile on his face. "Hello there!" He said "Come for my autograph, have you?" He pulled out a peacock-feather quill from his pocket.

Harry stood flabbergasted, staring at the professor that once made all the bones disappear from his arm. "No, I…um…"

"You know, I've been watching you from those doors," said Lockhart, waving the quill underneath his chin. "You seem troubled, my young friend."

Harry gave him a pointed look. "Listen, Professor I don't really want to—" Lockhart suddenly got right up into his face. "What are you _doing_?"

Lockhart stepped back, with a look of eureka. "_Ah, _I can tell what's troubling you, my young friend! It's written all over your face…by the way, I can write my autograph on your face. Where would you like it? The cheek, or maybe the forehead—"

Harry dodged Lockhart's quill, he didn't fancy the idea of having _I love Lockhart_ on his face. "No, no!" he exclaimed holding up his hands. "No, thank you!"

Lockhart's smile faded for a moment, but it was quickly regained as he pointed the feather end of his quill at Harry. "You're having woman troubles!"

"_I am?"_

"Yes, you're all flustered! Trust me, I know all about women…" Lockhart trailed off, his forehead knotting up in confusion, "…_I think?"_

Harry thought about how Lockhart was voicing things, he had been suspecting. "But…but we're _just friends_!" he cried out.

"Oh, it started out that way, but now you can't stop thinking about her, your heart goes all pitter-patter when you're around her, and…," Lockhart paused, grinning,"…you want to _kiss _her. Am I right?"

Harry shook his head, laughing nervously. "B-but I…I can't possibly…she's just…I couldn't have possibly developed feelings…" He stopped; his eyes going wide as the truth finally hit him. "_How did this happen_?"

Lockhart leaned against Harry's shoulder with his elbow. **"**Who knows? Maybe she slipped you a love potion. Women can be tricky like that."

Harry shook his head. "No, Ginny would never…" He looked to Lockhart, leaning on his shoulder, and shrugged him off. "I _can't_ believe I'm even having this conversation!"

Lockhart's smile widened. "I know; it's unbelievable that you're having a conversation right now, with me, Gilderoy Lockhart." He turned away, as if expecting someone to come around the corner with a camera. Harry made his escape while Lockhart was distracted. "But I like to spare some time for my fans. I'm just _that_ amazing." Lockhart turned back around. "So, about those autographs? Um…hello? My young friend, where did you go?"

Harry looked around the corner. No sign of Lockhart. He leaned back his head, until it went _thud_ against the wall. For a while he stared up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes, his mind racing through images of a beautiful red-haired girl. He had kind of known it in the back of his mind. It had kept faintly whispering to him, but he hadn't really paid attention to it, and didn't want to face it. However, he really couldn't ignore it, nor deny it, now that he felt it with every beat of his heart. "_I...I fancy her_," he choked out, his eyes going wide as he gulped. "_I fancy Ginny."_

The beast dwelling in his stomach, roared out in triumph, no longer being hindered. It was finally free to pursue the female it so yearned for, and it refused to be caged up again.


	7. He Fancied Her

_A/N: I would like to say I'm very sorry! I didn't mean to go on hiatus, but it dragged on. I won't bore you with excuses. So just truly sorry! I'm so thankful for your support! I will finish this story because I value you as readers. I hope you continue to enjoy the story._

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><p><em>DC: I don't own Harry Potter...but J.K. Rowling does. <em>

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**SEVEN**

_He Fancied Her_

* * *

><p>Harry had just ran away from her, like a galloping hippogriff. Before that he had pushed her away during a hug. Harry sure did know how to lower a girl's self-esteem.<p>

Ginny looked down the corridor shaking her head. What just happened? Harry had just pushed her away and had looked to be experiencing something like a panic attack. That's what happened, but it still didn't answer her question. She repeated. _What just happened?_

She turned walking down the corridor to her dad's ward. She didn't understand it. Weren't Harry and her on that level of friendship where it wasn't completely embarrassing to confide in each other? Maybe she was mistaken. Perhaps Harry didn't feel they were that close and she had freaked him out by being more _girlish_ than normal. Anyway she looked at it didn't lessen the ache of rejection that was served by his withdraw.

The subject of Harry was forgotten for a moment though as Ginny came across her brothers crouched on the floor outside the door leading to the ward. Raising her eyebrows, she cocked her head. "What's going on?"

They all slightly jumped at the sound of her voice, and then turned pressing their fingers against their lips. She watched as Fred pulled at a string until an Extendable Ear came through the crack under the door. Her brothers then just stared at one another, their faces doused with shock and their lips agape at something they had just overheard.

Ginny stared at them waiting for an answer, and then sighed impatiently. "What's with those looks on your faces?"

It was then her brothers took her aside and told her what they had just heard through the Extendable Ears. "And you actually believe that? That he's possessed. I'm ashamed to be related to every one of you."

"Ginny, I'm not saying Harry _meant_ to do anything, if he did—" Ron tried to say.

"Oh, I see this is the whole 'he put his name in the Goblet of Fire' thing all over again," Ginny said. Ron had the decency to look down at the floor. "Have a little more faith in your _best mate_, Ron.

"So Harry's possessed," she continued in a clipped tone. "Wouldn't be the first time Tom has possessed someone to order around a snake to attack people." Her brothers coughed, choking on the salvia at the back of their throats. They all knew what she was referring to: The Chamber of Secrets. "If you're blaming Harry, what must you think of me—"

"No, no! We don't blame Harry! Not at all, Ginny! We…we're just shocked that's all. If he is being possessed it's not his fault. It's that filthy You-Know-Who," George said, clenching his fists. Fred agreed heartily with his brother, while Ron feebly nodded looking fearful of receiving another one of his sister's glares.

"He's not possessed," Ginny stated firmly. "He's _not_ possessed," she said once again to herself later once her brothers had left the corridor, leaving her alone to wait for Harry's return. He was a sorry sight when she spotted him with his feet dragging against the floor while his mind seemed to be on auto-pilot, his eyes glazed over with great astonishment.

She took a couple of steps until she was standing in front of him. "Harry?"

Harry slowly raised his gaze until his eyes focused on her, and then he stared and then stared some more. Ginny wasn't even completely sure he realized what he was doing as his gaze seemed to be taking everything in about her. She looked back at him, studying his eyes. She still wasn't convicted that he was possessed. His eyes, they weren't void and emotionless as if under someone else's control. If anything they were filled with an array of emotions, too jumbled together to be deciphered. Though, she would admit Harry was acting a bit _strange_. She figured it was the combination of being sleep-deprived and hyped up on tea.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

Harry blinked, giving his head a shake. "Oh…um," he stuttered, his cheeks turning slightly pink, "yeah, I'm alright, Ginny."

Harry walked beside Ginny, their feet making little progress down the corridor and their mouths hushed by the unknown mutual affection held in their hearts. Ginny tentatively looked at Harry. "Harry?" She said slowly. "When I hugged you a moment ago. Why did you push me away?"

Harry turned his head, glancing at her. "Oh, it's just…I didn't deserve it. You hugging me. Because I didn't do anything, so I didn't want you hugging me." His eyes widened. "Not that it was bad!" He quickly pointed out. "It's not that I don't enjoy hugging you…because I do! I mean you're my friend," he added in a rush, "who _doesn't_ enjoy hugging a friend? Because I sure do….enjoy hugging you," he finished lamely.

"Let me see if I got this right. You felt like you didn't deserve my gratitude…," Ginny eyed him in disbelief. "So you _pushed_ me away?"

Harry raised his hand sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, not one of my best decisions." He turned his head left and right looking down the almost deserted corridor. "Where are your brothers, Ginny?" He said, finally taking notice of their absence.

"Oh, those gits? You won't believe what they heard. Mad Eye-Moody said you were being possessed." Harry sharply inhaled next to her. "Harry? You don't actually believe that do you?" One look into his eyes and she knew. "_You do_."

"Ginny, maybe you shouldn't be around me."

"Harry, you can't seriously believe that! And I bloody will stay by you if I want Harry!" she said, her temper flaring up. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"Ginny, this is serious! I could—"

"So am I!"

"If I hurt you…"

"Harry! You're not possessed! I know because—" But he never gave her the chance to finish. For the second time that day he ran away from her.

"Harry!" She cried out in vain as she watched him disappear down the corridor. "Harry! Harry...," her voice pleaded, "_come back_."

* * *

><p>But he didn't come back. Harry went into hiding that day, even though Ginny could see him right there on the train. He hid with every word he didn't say, and every avoided glance. Then he completely hid himself away once they reached Grimmauld Place into his and Ron's room.<p>

Ginny was torn.

Torn between being worried about Harry and wanting to throttle him for being a bloody git that wouldn't talk to her; much less take care of himself and actually eat some dinner.

You would think considering that he knew someone personally that had been possessed by Tom Riddle—namely her—that he would come to her and ask her how it had felt. But no, he was a typical bloke. Didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to admit that he needed someone. Blokes, didn't even ask for bloody directions, even when they were completely lost. And he was lost, she could tell.

Could it be possible that he didn't wish to bring up the Chamber of Secrets because he didn't wish to make her relive that experience? There were many different scenarios as to why Harry wasn't confiding in her, and every last one sunk her heart. And what a time to be disheartened with Christmas drawing near. But not everyone was brooding like a moody teenager, there was one fellow filled with Christmas cheer, someone she didn't expect—Sirius Black.

It was an inspiring sight to see an innocent man once locked behind the hells of Azkaban to have the light of Christmas in his eyes, singing and decorating like a house-elf hyped on butterbeer.

Ginny hadn't known Sirius for long, but she knew from the moment Harry had embraced Sirius with a smile that could repel a Dementor, that this man was no murderer. She found she liked him right away; he reminded her of Fred and George. "You know Muggle Christmas carols?" she asked, approaching Sirius as he hung some tinsel on the railing of the staircase.

Sirius gave her a smile. "Oh, yeah, learned them from James. He was really into Muggle Christmas carols because of Lily," he sighed wistfully. "He even tried to serenade her once with a Christmas carol. It didn't go so well," his eyes went downcast for a moment. "It drove my mother crazy when I would hum carols during december." The portrait of Mrs. Black gave a high shriek. "_Still does_," he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You know Muggle Christmas carols as well?"

"Dad," she said, which explained everything.

"Well, the more the merrier I say…to drive my mother insane."

Once they were done decorating the staircase and singing another encore of carols, Sirius and Ginny walked towards the kitchen only pausing for a moment at the sight of a sprig mistletoe hanging in the doorway. Sirius turned to Ginny. "I'd give you a kiss, Ginny. But then I fear my godson might kill me."

Ginny raised her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose. What did Sirius mean by that? Why would Harry care at all who she kissed under the mistletoe? "I don't think Harry would mind, he's already had his share of mistletoe."

Sirius staggered back with a bark of laughter. "You know about _that_?"

"Girls kiss and tell."

"Oh, well boys tell also, and a certain boy told me that it was…wet."

"Wet?" she replied. Was that a good or bad thing?

"Wet like Snape's oily hair." Definitely a bad thing. "But you didn't hear it from me," Sirius said with a wink, and then walked off into the kitchen.

Ginny watched him leave, her brow knotted. Why did Sirius just tell her something that Harry had obviously told him in private? It was indeed an interesting tidbit that left a guilty pleasurable feeling that Harry didn't enjoy his kiss with Cho. But why did he share it with her? Could he be on _her _side? Sirius Black: Gryffindor, Animagus, godfather, ex-Azkaban inmate, wingman to Ginny Weasley. Now that made her laugh.

* * *

><p>"Hermione!"<p>

It was an unexpected, but very pleasant surprise when Hermione walked thought the entrance of Grimmauld Place. Ginny stole Hermione away to her room once she could get her away from Ron. They talked about Hermione's parents and their trip, but then the conversation quickly moved to what was really in the front of Ginny's mind—Harry.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" suggested Hermione. "I mean you've experienced something like that with the Chamber of—"

"I tried," Ginny deadpanned. "He ran away from me."

Hermione gaped at her for a second. "He _ran?_"

"Like a dementor was at his heels. Yes, I tried, but I only got three words out and then he sprinted."

"Well, then _chase_ him," said Hermione, a smug smile on her lips. "You did say you wanted to be a Chaser."

"Hermione," Ginny gasped, starting to laugh. "Did you just make a _Quidditch_ joke?"

"Yes, I believe I did. Listen, Ginny you need to continue showing Harry the real you. Give him a piece of your mind. That will definitely make him notice you," Hermione's smile grew, "not that he hasn't already."

"I don't think he's really noticed—"

"_He has_," said Hermione, like a professor no one dared to correct.

So by Hermione's advice, Ginny found herself climbing the stairs to Buckbeak's room where she knew Harry was currently hiding. She was a bit surprised to find the door wasn't locked; though Harry seemed surprised as he stared at her, his hand frozen in mid-air dangling a dead rat. Neither of them said anything, until the rat hit the floor and Buckbeak gobbled it down.

Harry clutched his stomach, looking away from her, staring intensely at the floorboards. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"I came here to _talk_ to you," Ginny said, to the point.

"Well, you can _go_, because I don't want to talk."

Ginny bit her tongue, fighting back the urge to just scream. "You are being so…_stupid_! You're not possessed!"

"How would you know!" he snapped.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I know! You know very well about what happened to me in the Chamber of Secrets…," Ginny trailed off as Harry gasped turning his head to stare at her. Both their eyes widened as the realization set in, and they reached the same conclusion. "You forgot."

"Ginny—"

"You bloody forgot," she said, her eyes pricking. "And here I thought you just didn't want to bring it up because—," she turned for the door about to leave. Harry acted quickly, getting up from the floor and grabbing her wrist.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, desperately holding onto her. After getting no reply, he continued cautiously. "So…I'm not possessed?"

After a moment, Ginny answered. "Can you remember everything? Do you any big blank periods where you can't remember what you did?"

"No."

"Then you're not being possessed."

It took a couple of minutes for all of it to sink in, and then Harry exhaled, his whole body relaxing with a sense of relief. Ginny felt his thumb moving slowly up and down her wrist, almost like a caress. The unintentional gesture both soothed and tortured her heart. "Thank you, Gin," he said softly.

"Um…Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let go of my wrist now?"

Her hand was released instantly as Harry let go within a millisecond, as if her wrist was red hot. It didn't take long for his entire face to turn as red as her hair.

Buckbeak scratched at the floor, his eagle eyes looking back and forth between them. Ginny was willing to bet if she could read Buckbeak's mind, he would be thinking, 'What's with the awkward silence? Are one of you going to feed me more rats?'

Ginny didn't know what to say next, but then Harry said something out of nowhere. "Was that you singing carols with Sirius?"

"You heard that?" Ginny almost squeaked out. "I mean…yeah." It hadn't been her intention for Harry to hear her sing. Sirius was okay, she wasn't self-conscious around him. He was like an honorary uncle, but _Harry_? She had finally accomplished _talking_ around him. Singing around him was going to take a couple of years.

"It was really nice," Harry stated sheepishly. "You should sing more often. Why didn't you join the choir?"

"I'm not one for public singing. The only people that have to suffer through my singing are my family and maybe one day my husband," she added jokingly.

"Lucky him," Harry mumbled.

* * *

><p>Christmas Eve. One hour away from Christmas day, Harry was lying wide awake in his bed. Ron was across for him, blissfully snoring away. Harry couldn't sleep, but it wasn't because he believed he was possessed, he was over that. It wasn't the excitement of Christmas day and opening presents. No, it was one single thought:<p>

He fancied Ginny.

No matter how many times he said it to himself, it never lost its shocking, terrifying, and thrilling punch. It had to be the second most life-changing revelation of his life. The first being the time Hagrid told him he was a wizard.

He was a wizard.

It had been wholly unexpected and yet he had, had a feeling that there was something different about him. But he had never thought that something was beyond the realms of reality...him a wizard. Now several people would probably think that finding out he was the-boy-who-lived would be the second most important revelation of his life, but no that whole title was just overrated to him. Ginny was definitely a more significant event.

Harry fancying Ginny had been beyond the realms of reality in his mind. It's not that there was anything unappealing about her, it was just he hadn't known her. With her always running away from him and never speaking a word, it was hard to imagine her as someone he could fancy.

Then there was the big fact that she was Ron's little sister.

Nervously, Harry glanced over at Ron, irrationally worrying that he could hear his thoughts. Harry sighed, turning in his bed. He was once guilty of only seeing her as his best mate's sister, but now found himself wishing that Ron and Ginny weren't related or at least second cousins once removed.

Evidently, his feelings for Ginny had taken a leap into the realms of reality when the creature had growled within his stomach, and soared up into his chest making his heart beat feverishly. For a foolish five hours, he had thought maybe his feelings for Ginny were just a passing fancy. But that had been proven false once he heard her soft voice singing carols through the floor. Once again, Ginny had been just the flavor to cheer him up, even though at the time he had believed himself possessed, and sitting in a bleak room surrounded by straw and dead rats. And if that wasn't proof enough, the moment he saw her standing in the doorway of Buckbeak's room, the creature in his stomach had definitely made itself known.

Harry buried his face into his pillow. He fancied Ginny; would the world ever give him a break?

* * *

><p>Christmas day was spent in a pleasant mood, as Harry woke up to the Christmas decorations and the opening of presents. It wasn't until he had finished opening his last present that Harry was hit with a horrifying predicament.<p>

"Harry?" said Ron, his mouth half full with mince pie. "What is it? You look a bit pale. Did you get something _worse_ than Dobby's ruddy painting?"

Harry clutched his hand-knitted jumper to his chest, and then realized that Ron had asked him a question. "Um…no," he said uneasily. "It's not that…," he shook his head, "just never mind."

Ron shrugged it off, going back to eating his Christmas treats.

Harry sulked, staring at the box of every flavor beans Ron had given him. They reminded him of Ginny, which reminded him that he hadn't gotten Ginny a Christmas present. _Bugger!_ He was just doing a _brilliant _job at looking good in Ginny's eyes. First, he had forgotten about the Chamber of Secrets and now he had forgotten to get her a present. Maybe he could just give Ginny one of his presents? No, that would look a bit odd in front of her family. _Humbug._

Descending the stairs down to the living room, Harry ate nervously from his box of every flavor beans. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Ginny without a present to give. He was further discouraged by the fact that he had never given Ginny one single gift. It had never crossed his mind before, but now it was all he could focus on.

Hermione soon joined them on the stairs. "Merry Christmas! Thanks for the book, Harry!" At least she was happy with her gift.

Harry mumbled back "Merry Christmas" as he eyed Ron, Fred, and George a couple of steps ahead of them, and then subtly grabbed Hermione by the elbow, keeping her back. "Hermione, what do girls like?" he blurted out.

Hermione gave him a questioning stare. "Could you be more specific, Harry?"

"What do girls like as presents?"

"Depends on the girl. A little _late_ to be shopping for a present," Hermione bit her lip, looking amused, "don't you think, Harry?"

"Never mind," said Harry, glaring. He could see that Hermione wasn't going to be any help. He would just have to avoid Ginny, or just avoid talking to her directly so the subject of him not having a Christmas present for her wouldn't come up. It was a brilliant plan…that lasted about twelve minutes.

"Merry Christmas, Harry."

With the cheerful greeting, Harry nearly choked on the every flavor he had been chewing when he turned to see Ginny. "M-merry Christmas, Ginny," he stuttered back.

"Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?" she asked, smiling.

_No, I didn't get you._ Harry started to sputter at the abrupt thought. Ginny, thankfully just thought he was choking on another bean as she patted him on the back. "Yeah…yeah, pretty much. You?"

"Pretty much," she replied.

Harry stood fidgeting in place, looking anywhere but at Ginny. Ron and Hermione were in a corner bickering about something to do with house-elves, Fred and George looked up to no good near the Christmas tree, and Sirius and Mrs. Weasley seemed busy with Christmas lunch. Harry glanced at Ginny, and finally spoke unable to take the tension. "I…I didn't get you a present, not that I didn't want to…it's just…um…," he trailed off, not wanting to say he had _forgotten_ again. He held out his box of every flavor beans in a feeble attempt at an apology, "want some?"

Ginny glanced down at the box and then started laughing. "I wasn't expecting a present, Harry. I mean, I didn't get you anything. I'm just happy that you could be here with us for Christmas." She leaned forward, reaching out her hand. "But I will take a bean," she said, picking out a bean and popping it into her mouth.

Harry felt something settle in his heart at her reply. It was still something new to him that someone genuinely was happy just to have him around, when the Dursleys usually couldn't wait to lock him up somewhere. He found with everything that Ginny did, that these feelings were beginning to solidify within him. It was with this that he concluded that being a wizard and fancying Ginny had two things in common: they were both wholly unexpected and absolutely brilliant.

After all the Christmas festivities were done at Grimmauld Place, Harry and the Weasley were escorted to St. Mungo's by Lupin and Mad-Eye where they paid Mr. Weasley a cheerful Christmas visit. The cheerful part being short lived as Mr. Weasley reluctantly revealed to Mrs. Weasley that he had requested to be treated with a Muggle method of healing—_stitches_. Thankfully, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the twins had caught on, making a quick escape to go get some tea, before Mrs. Weasley started yelling at Mr. Weasley. Harry was now walking down a corridor with Ron and Hermione as Ginny commented on the absurdity of her father's actions.

"I don't know what Dad was thinking," said Ginny. "Stitches? Well, he must be feeling better if he feels like being sewn up like a doll."

Harry gave a nonchalant nod, his mind more occupied with her physical features. She was quite petite, with a nice athletic tone to her legs, and soft womanly curves developing nicely. In other words, as most blokes would say, she was _fit_. At that moment Harry couldn't help but recall a previous conversation with Hermione where he had said that Ginny was 'nice looking'. The words 'nice looking' now festered in his mouth like a vomit every flavor bean, he wished he had never tasted. It was now as if his glasses had been mucked up and he had finally cleaned them and could see clearly for the first time. It was clear he would never take her beauty for granted again. Harry gladly would have gone on for another ten minutes staring at the soft curve of her neck, if it wasn't for the fact that he suddenly realized that Ron was still there when he made a strangled noise in shock.

Looking around, Harry realized that Ron wasn't the only one in shock. Ginny and Hermione had also stopped walking and were staring intently ahead. The first thing Harry noticed was the sign, and then he groaned inwardly as the man standing in front of them with the dazzling smile, confirmed his location. He was back on the "Spell Damage" floor, and his favorite patient was there to greet him. Of all the places in St. Mungo's, how did he end up back here?

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny each had their own equally shocked expressions at seeing their ex-Denfense Agaisnt the Dark Arts teacher. But in true Lockhart fashion, Lockhart only seemed to take notice to his fellow celebrity. "Ah, my young friend!" he exclaimed staring right at Harry. "I see you couldn't stay away!"

"Unfortunately," Harry mumbled.

Hermione looked to Lockhart then at Harry. "You knew Lockhart was here?"

"Yeah, I accidently ran into him on my last visit."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ron asked.

_I was more occupied with the fact that I fancy your sister. _Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I just forgot." He winced at his unintentional pun.

Lockhart quickly became irritated that he wasn't the center of attention. "So how are your woman troubles going? Did you take my advice and kiss her?" he said rather loudly.

Harry felt like smacking himself in the face in exasperation. It was just his luck that out of all the things Lockhart was actually able to remember that his _woman troubles_ would be one of them.

Ron glanced at Harry, his lips twisting in disgusted disbelief. "You talked to Lockhart about Cho?"

"Cho? I thought the young lady's name was Bonnie? No, that's not it…Jennifer? Ginger?"

Harry shot a look of sheer horror in Ginny's direction, which thankfully went unnoticed by the occupants in the room. He then blurted out the first thing he could think of to divert the conversation. "You know, I would love an autograph!"

"Really? Splendid! Who shall I make it out to?" Lockhart didn't wait for a reply, but instead looked at his other 'fans'. "I suppose your little friends would like an autograph as well?" Hermione, Ron, and Ginny opened their mouth to protest, but never got the chance. "Of course, they would! Come, come! Right this way!"

After looking at one other, they sighed and just decided to follow him. It was Christmas after all, Hermione had said. Ron just grumbled, sending a glare at Harry for asking Lockhart for an autograph. Harry didn't mind. It was much better than getting punched for liking his sister. And Ginny didn't seem particularly irked as she followed, simply amused that this was the bloke her mum used to fancy. It took a couple of tries to find the right ward, since Lockhart couldn't remember which one it was. But they were soon lead into the right one, once Lockhart's Healer found them; she looked thrilled that her little Gilderoy had Christmas visitors.

Inside the closed ward, they looked around while Lockhart scribbled away at his autographs. It didn't take Harry long to realize that Lockhart wasn't the only familiar face in this place for permanent spell damaged residents. How he wished he had been the only one to recognize his fellow Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom. But there was nothing he could do, once it was made clear to everyone that Neville's parents Alice and Frank were patients here. As Harry watched the whole thing unfold, he could only grit his teeth at the tragic fate of the Longbottoms. He didn't know how Neville took it, to have parents and yet not have them. Before his eyes he saw another reality, Mrs. Longbottom's dead, white hair quickly morphed in a mane of rumpled, limp red hair, and a pair of glasses appeared on the bridge of Mr. Longbottom's nose. And there they were, Mr. and Mrs. Potter with him in Neville's place holding a crumpled up gum wrapper.

In that moment Harry's respect for Neville Longbottom grew; for he thought him braver than he had ever been.


	8. The Ultimatum

_A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy you're still enjoying it! :)_

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><p><em>DC: I don't own Harry Potter, the woman that does is the wonderful J.K. Rowling.<em>

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**EIGHT**

_The Ultimatum_

* * *

><p>The Christmas holidays were now over, and while everyone else was trying to get back into the hustle and bustle of classes, Harry found himself busy with more pressing matters. Two, to be exact: Occlumency and Ginny.<p>

It didn't really matter that he still didn't know exactly what Occlumency was—the magical defense of the mind against external penetration, or something or other. What mattered was that Snape would be his instructor, and that was a guarantee that it would be _horrible_. He very well knew, even if Snape taught him about the art of picking lilies, that it would still be a hellish nightmare. But he had no choice; Dumbledore believed that this was for the best. While Harry was starting to firmly believe that just because Dumbledore thought something was for the best, didn't necessary make it true.

The other matter of Ginny was much more agreeable to think about, if not as equally frustrating. He hadn't seen much of her all day since she was a fourth year, and that was oddly comforting considering he had no idea how to approach the situation at hand. He still wasn't sure how to go about making the translation from friends to _more _than friends. He wasn't even sure Ginny _wanted_ to make that translation with him. In the end, he could either just continue being her friend, or he could go up to her…and probably do something idiotic. Both options left him miserable.

The day went by quickly for Harry, and he had yet to make any endeavor towards Ginny. It hurt somewhat that Ginny herself didn't approach him; he wished he could say the same about the numerous D.A. members that approached him throughout the day asking about the next meeting. Most of them just left once he answered them, but Zacharias Smith just had to make some annoying comment. After escaping Smith's nagging, Harry glanced towards the oak doors leading to the Great Hall where people were finishing up their lunch. Ginny was still inside chatting with her friends at the Gryffindor table and had yet to come out.

"Harry, are you waiting for someone?" Hermione inquired, noticing his glances towards the Great Hall.

"Is it Cho? Did you decide that you fancy her after all," asked Ron. "You never did answer me about what Lockhart meant by woman troubles. No wonder Cho cried, if you got love advice from Lockhart."

He was never going to live down the Lockhart incident, was he?

"Err…well—"

"Hi, Harry." Speak of the wailing Ravenclaw herself. Harry turned around to his greeter to find Cho Chang shyly smiling at him.

"Uh," Harry uttered, slightly surprised that Cho would approach him after that awkward, tearful kiss under the mistletoe. "Hi, Cho." It was weird upon seeing her again, that he realized he hadn't really thought of her since that day. As much as he thought he should be feeling more for the girl that once made his stomach flip, his heart just couldn't scrape together enough emotion to rekindle that sensation.

Ron and Hermione stood awkwardly looking between Harry and Cho, seeming indecisive on whether to stay or leave. "Well, Harry, Ron and I need to go to the library," said Hermione uneasily. "Let's go Ron. See you later, Harry." She turned around towards the staircase with Ron quickly fleeing with her.

Harry glared after their retreating forms. _Traitors._

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" asked Cho.

Immediately, Harry thought of the happiness on Sirius' face, all the Weasley antics, Hermione's unexpected arrival, and Ginny singing carols. "Yeah, I did," said Harry, a faint smile on his lips.

Cho made a short reply about her Christmas and then awkwardly changed the subject to the next Hogsmeade trip. "Did you see the notice about it?"

"Oh, no," said Harry. "I haven't checked the notice board yet. So, we have a Hogsmeade trip next month?"

Cho nodded. "Yes, it's on Valentine's Day…"

"Right," said Harry vaguely, nodding his head. "Right…_that's it!_" he cried out. "I'll ask her to go to Hogsmeade with me!" he turned to Cho grinning. "Thanks, Cho!" He said, and then dashed towards the Great Hall, not even noticing Cho with her mouth hanging rather unflatteringly.

* * *

><p>Harry had made a decision. This was it. Valentine's Day the ultimatum of all romantic purists. This was just the deadline Harry needed to push himself. He knew he needed to do this, just plunge forward. If he kept holding back Ginny would surely be with someone on Valentine's Day, and he wanted that someone to be him. What he did next would either make Valentine's Day his victory or his defeat. Standing in front of the oak doors, he pumped himself up, like he would before a game, and then with one final breath he entered the Great Hall to meet his fate.<p>

But all too soon Harry realized that fate was never really in his favor. Because once he entered the Great Hall and looked for Ginny, he found her not alone, but with Michael Corner. It would seem Ravenclaw had won before the game had ever begun. They stood over by the Gryffindor table, their lips moving in conversation, and then Ginny let out a laugh. It rippled through the Great Hall and straight to Harry's heart, sending it into a painful contraction; while Corner on the other hand smiled on. Funny, how one man's happiness was another man's sorrow.

"Hey, Harry when are—"

"_No_, I don't know when the next meeting will be," Harry said brusquely.

Colin stood eyes wide, as Harry walked hastily past him towards the oak doors. It wasn't really Colin's fault, but Harry couldn't stand another minute in that room. The corridors were a blur as he walked blindly, trying to escape the emotions that had arrested him upon seeing Ginny with Corner. This hurt much worse than seeing Cho with Cedric. 'It sucks, doesn't it?' He heard Ginny's voice in his head say. 'When you see the person you fancy and all you want is for them to look at you or just talk a little, but they don't even _notice_ you.' Harry winced at the irony he now found himself it; served by his own hand. He didn't want to think about all his mistakes, he didn't want to think about how irrational he was being, or how he could possibly be jumping to the wrong conclusion. Simply, he just wished to ponder no more.

Too bad, for him that fate was particularly sadistic today. He quickly caught on to this, once he was at his Occlumency lesson, and finally learned exactly what Occlumency meant, and why he needed to learn it.

Voldemort was highly skilled at Legilimency: the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind. Harry instantly felt like he was going to lose his stomach. It didn't help that the image of Voldemort jabbing a pointy, rigid extraction tool into his skull, like a mad dentist, popped into his mind.

As for Snape, he was anything but sympathetic towards Harry's plight, as he explained it all in a cold and accusing voice. As though Harry had done something to deserve all of this; like he wanted to be cursed, share a connection, and the thoughts and emotions of the monster that had murdered his parents.

Quickly, Snape moved onto the reason they were there, which was for Harry to learn Occlumency. Which just happened to require Snape to break into his mind. _Oh, that's nice._ Voldemort was breaking into his mind and now Snape would be too. Why didn't they just invite Malfoy to the party too, so Harry's misery would then be complete?

"_Legilimens!"_

The attack came before Harry could prepare himself at all. Snape's blunt approach reminded him of an old Muggle gym teacher that would teach his students how to swim by pushing them into the pool. Snape's lesson had the same message: learn quick or drown. And Harry quickly found himself drowning within his own memories and emotions as they assaulted him one after another.

Painful memory after painful memory, flashed through his mind, memories he wished he could forget. Most of them consisted of his miserable existence at the Dursleys, some were of his doubts and struggles at Hogwarts, and then he saw his most recent failure approach in his mind.

Ginny was standing with Corner, laughing, she didn't even notice him watching them as his heart was—_No! No, you're not watching this! Over my dead body! This is private! My feelings are my feelings! Not yours, not anybody's, mine!_

Harry breathed roughly, as Snape's office came back into view, and he saw his hands in front of him trembling against the dungeon floor. He had fallen to the floor at some point during his struggle to keep his mind closed. Looking up, he saw Snape rubbing his wrist, where there was a red weal. Apparently, he had done that to Snape. It served him right for not even giving him a warning, Harry thought.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked, referring to his feelings for Ginny.

Snape replied that he had seen flashes of it, and then referred to a memory, but not the one Harry was dreading. He was satisfied enough with Snape's answer, because he doubted that Snape would be able pass up this comedic gold. Surely, he would have said something like, 'Get over your little teenage drama, and focus!' or 'Anybody would choose Corner over you Potter,' or 'Dense much, Potter?' or 'Ah, heartbroken are we, Potter? Get used to it.'

Harry wasn't sure he would have been able to keep it check his already teetering temper, if Snape had said something like that.

Snape continued the lesson by telling him to clear his mind, and let go of all emotion.

Harry felt like flat out laughing at Snape. Oh, sure he just had to find the off switch…now where was it? Leave it to Snape to pick the worst possible time to tell him to deal with his emotions. The pain of seeing Ginny with Corner, of knowing that it was his own fault he had lost his chance, was still fresh…much too fresh...

Things only continued to get worse as they continued; their words being a broken record of "You're not trying, Potter," and "I am trying! This isn't exactly easy!" By the time the memory of seeing Cedric lying lifeless on the ground ran through his mind, Harry truly felt like ramming Snape head on. He never thought this was going end, but finally after what felt like several torturous filled days, he was dismissed from his lesson and told to return on Wednesday. Once he left Snape's office, he headed towards the library with his scar searing against his skin and an interesting piece of information that drew the puzzle of the Department of Mysteries closer to being complete.

* * *

><p>Having reached the library, Harry joined Ron and Hermione at their table, where parchments of homework were scattered around, this being Ron's, while Hermione's homework was neatly sacked, in alphabetic order. There, he told them about what he had discovered during his Occlumency lesson, which made them all reach the same conclusion: that Voldemort was after a weapon, and it was hidden in the Department of Mysteries.<p>

Harry rested his forehead against the cool surface of the table, as Ron did his homework across from him. Hermione had gotten up to search the aisles for a book, leaving them alone.

"Harry? _Oi! Harry_."

Harry looked up at Ron's insistent whispering. "You don't look so good, mate," said Ron.

"Oh, _Really?_" Harry replied shortly, and then laid his head back down.

"Harry…Harry…_Harry_."

Harry snapped his head up, his eyes narrowing. "_What is it,_ _Ron_?"

Ron looked frightful of speaking for a moment, but then he quickly got over it. "So, what was that whole thing with Cho about? Why did she want to speak with you?"

"Something about Valentine's Day," Harry mumbled.

"Blimey, Harry did you ask her to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day?"

"What? No! I don't want to talk about Cho," said Harry, about turn away from Ron, but then he stopped, taking a tentative glance towards him. No, he couldn't. Could he? Oh, Merlin, he must be _desperate_. But he didn't have anyone else to talk to about this. He couldn't talk to Sirius, and he really didn't feel like dealing with Hermione's all-knowing looks. "Ron?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"Have you ever felt like you've been searching for the perfect Bertie Bott Bean in a box of hundreds? Only to realize later on that it's been there all along, and that you just had mistaken it for an ordinary bean and threw it away?"

Ron gave Harry one of the looks he usually reserved for Luna when she was talking about _anything_. "Err…Harry, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think we need to go to the hospital wing. I think Snape's Occlumency lesson might have done something to your mind."

"I'm fine!" Harry snapped, even though at the moment he felt himself shivering. He rubbed his forehead, his scar aching and then sulked, sinking down into his chair. "I…I just really want that Bertie Bott Bean back."

"Is there a Bertie Bott Bean that's really that great?"

"It's one of a kind."

"Really? Harry, if you find it. Could I have a little nibble of it?"

"_No!_" Harry quickly snapped his head down, as Madam Pince suddenly peeked around a bookshelf at the outburst. "I…I mean, you wouldn't like it. You and I have _completely_ different tastes."

"Well, what does the bean taste like?"

"I…I don't know," Harry stuttered, blushing profusely. "I…I haven't tasted it."

Ron crossed his arms. "Well, then how would you know I wouldn't like it?"

"Trust me, Ron. I know," Harry deadpanned. "I think maybe some other bloke might have it."

"Well, if it was my bean, I wouldn't let some other bloke eat it! I'd get it back, especially if it was a marshmallow flavored bean, those are bloody good and really hard to find."

Harry sat up straighter in his chair. "You're right, Ron! I can't just let that prat have—my Bertie Bott Bean! I have to at least _try_ to get it back!"

"Get what back?" asked Hermione, coming back to the table with a book in hand.

Before Harry could stop him, Ron answered. "Some git stole Harry's Bertie Bott Bean."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "His Bertie Bott Bean?"

"Yeah, it's this really rare one—"

"It's nothing," said Harry, quickly cutting Ron off.

Following Ron's unintentional and surprisingly good advice, Harry left the library in search of Ginny. No more was he going to wallow in his doubts and just do nothing. He didn't care if Corner had already asked Ginny to Hogsmeade; he would ask too. Then it would be up to Ginny to decide who she would go with. The chances of her picking him? He wasn't sure what they were, but he would never have any chance with her if he continued standing on the sidelines.

And he took those steps onto the center field by approaching her, once he spotted her in the corridor. "Hi, Ginny."

Ginny turned towards him and gasped, her eyes going wide. "Harry! Are you alright? You look quite pale."

"Oh, yeah…it's just because of Snape's lesson," he said, even though at moment he wasn't sure if he was feeling ill because of Occlumency, or because his nerves were starting to set in, and he felt like his heart was about to jump up through his throat. "A-anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes, Harry?" said Ginny, looking intently at him.

"There's a Hogsmeade visit…n-next month," Harry gulped, willing himself to speak clearly, and just get it over with, "and I was wondering if you would like to go with me on Valentine's Day."

There. He had said it. It was all out in the open now.

Ginny tilted her head, her eyes squinting in speculation. That couldn't be good.

"You…you don't have to if you don't want to," Harry added hastily, "…or if you're already going with _someone else…_"

"I'm not going with anyone else."

Harry double-blinked. "You're not? You mean, no one else has asked you?" he asked eagerly.

Ginny shook her head. "Are you sure, Harry?" she asked. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather go with someone else to Hogsmeade?"

"I'm sure," Harry said conclusively, hoping she would understand the underlining message: _I'm sure, that I fancy you._

With only a second of hesitation, a light, pleasant smile came across Ginny's face. "Well, okay it's a date." Harry exhaled, as an exhilarating feeling of lightness flooded him, and then it all plummeted to the ground with her next words. "I had lots of fun on our last play date."

_Play?_ She thought he was asking her on another play date? Harry opened his mouth to correct her, but then snapped his mouth shut. Doubts started filling his mind again. What if she had assumed that it was a play date, because she wanted it to be a play date, and didn't have any interest in going on a real date with him? "Me too," he said, before he could stop himself.

Then before he had the time to feel crushed, he felt light, as in lightheaded, as the pounding in his head got worse. His world swayed, and then suddenly there was a pleasant smell…it smelt like…flowers…

"Harry? Harry!" He heard Ginny's worried voice.

Blinking at the grey fabric in front of his eyes, Harry slowly became aware of two hands gripping his forearms, and then he inhaled the scent, burying his nose into the cotton. "Smells so good," he said drowsily.

It smelt familiar….it smelt like…_Ginny?!_

Instantly, Harry shot up straight, fully alert, his face immensely hot. He had just fainted into Ginny and had been burrowing his nose into the shoulder on her sweater. "G-Ginny, I'm—"

"Harry, you just fainted," said Ginny, looking at him anxiously. "You're pale, feverish, and shivering. You need to go to the hospital wing," she reached forward, taking his hand. "Come on."

"It's just because of Snape's lesson," he said, wincing as his scar ached. "It'll go away. I'm fine."

Ginny looked straight at him, her eyes soft, and yet determined. "No, you're not.

She was right, of course. He knew it even before she said it. But he never imagined that he would start laughing like a maniac in the middle of the hospital wing.

He was happy—Voldemort—the laugher had been his. He had felt Voldemort happiness. For a moment Voldemort happiness had been his own, and that truly sickened Harry more than any physical illness. What had happened to make Voldemort so happy? It couldn't possibly be anything good; in fact it had to be the complete opposite. One man's happiness was Harry's sorrow, indeed.

* * *

><p>The next day Harry was feeling much better. He sure wasn't feeling feverish and fainting into unsuspecting girls, so that was always good. But something was bothering him. Since he had woken up, he couldn't help thinking about how he had made a play date with Ginny, when what he really wanted was a <em>real<em> date with her. Snape's voice taunted him in his head, with something he had said during the Occlumency lesson.

"_You're weak."_

"_You're weak."_

"_You're weak." _

"I'm not weak," Harry grumbled to himself, as he gathered up his textbooks, putting them into his school bag.

He would prove he wasn't weak. He would prove it by taking Ginny to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day, and on that day he would make sure it was a real date. With this new resolution, Harry felt himself fill with renewed confidence and headed down to the Great Hall ready for the day…or at least until he saw the headline of the _Daily Prophet_.

**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN**  
><strong>MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"<strong>  
><strong>FOR OLD DEATH EATERS<strong>

And here he was having such a great morning.


	9. A Very Drenched Valentine

_A/N: Is it pathetic that I'm happy I finished this chapter around actual Valentine's Day? I say no. I can't say thank you enough to you all for your reviews, I enjoy reading them all, so I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!_

* * *

><p><em>DC: I don't own Harry Potter, as always J.K. Rowling is the one-who-does.<em>

* * *

><p><em>A Long Overdue Confession<em>

**NINE**

_A Very Drenched Valentine_

* * *

><p>Harry sat on the cliff overlooking the lake, with the grass beneath his fingertips, and Hedwig beside him. This was one of his favorite spots on the grounds of Hogwarts. Here, there was no Umbridge breathing down his neck, no one expecting him to lead, and no one yelling at him to turn off his emotions. Here, he was just Harry with his friend Hedwig, enjoying the majestic view of the lake's glistening waters below, the rugged mountains in the distance, and the boundless skies above.<p>

Harry stroked the feathers on Hedwig's head. "I feel so trapped inside Hogwarts. And here I thought I would escape that when I left the Dursleys. I wonder if Umbridge and the Dursleys are somehow related?" he paused, looking down at Hedwig. "But I don't care what either of them do. I'll fight back. I won't let them clip my wings!"

Hedwig gave him a reproachful look, slightly flinching away from him.

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Hedwig, I didn't mean to bring up memories of your attack. But you're all better now."

Putting his hands behind his head, Harry laid down, staring up at the sky. "I wonder what Ginny is doing," he sighed. "I just can't believe that she's liked me for years, and I never really took notice of it. I mean, of course I _noticed_, who couldn't notice someone putting their elbow in the butter dish? But I just brushed it off. I didn't try to notice her in all the ways that counted," he turned his head to the side. "Hedwig, am I an idiot?"

Hedwig bobbled her head up and down, giving a big hoot. "Thanks, Hedwig, you could have least pretended to consider it for a moment."

Harry turned his head back, looking up at the sky again. "But you're right, I am an idiot."

"You're just now figuring that out?" someone said, laughing.

It wasn't one of his most suave moments—like he had any at all—when Harry yelled, springing up into a sitting position, blushing profoundly. "G-Ginny?" he choked out. "How…how _long_ have you been standing there?"

"About a second," Ginny said, sitting down in the grass beside Hedwig.

"I must be getting rusty," Harry said. "I usually notice when someone is approaching," he side glanced at Ginny. "Then again I'm coming to realize that I don't notice as much as I think I do."

"Don't be so down on yourself," said Ginny, reaching out to stoke Hedwig's feathers. "Besides, I'm excellent at sneaking up on people, when I want to be." Hedwig fluttered up onto her shoulder, and started nibbling on her ear, causing Ginny to giggle. "She likes me."

_Her owner likes you, too._ Harry bent his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, as he watched Hedwig continue to show Ginny affection._ Was it possible to be jealous of your own owl?_

The sight of Ginny and Hedwig painted a beautiful picture, with Hedwig's white feathers standing out strikingly against Ginny's red hair as strands of it caressed her cheek in the wind; it seemed like the essence of tranquility, something Harry could never hope to attain.

"Well, you're…you're very likable," Harry said breathlessly. He turned away, when she looked back at him.

"Thank you," she said, seemingly surprised.

Harry let out a faint, bittersweet chuckle. "Don't mention it."

"So why was Hedwig calling you an idiot?"

"Oh, because of lots…of things."

"Well, I'm sure it's just because she cares about you," said Ginny. Hedwig softly hooted from her shoulder. "See, she agrees with me." Ginny stared down at her lap. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we still on for Valentine's Day?"

"Of course, unless…," Harry felt his stomach twist painfully, "you don't want to go with me anymore?"

"No! I was just double-checking," said Ginny, with a reassuring smile.

After that, Harry was only vaguely aware of what Ginny was saying; his thoughts were more occupied with the fact that they were alone and this would be the perfect moment to tell her. They were alone, the scenery was beautiful, she was beautiful…tell her now, his heart screamed. Do it now, tell her!

_Tell her!_

_Tell her!_

_Tell her!_

Then Ginny started getting up, and there went his chance. Hedwig fluttered down to the ground beside him. "I have to go meet Angelina about something. I just wanted to see how you were doing. See you later, Harry!"

Harry watched her walk out into the distance until he couldn't see her anymore. "Some Gryffindor, I am," he mumbled, and then turned to Hedwig. "What do you think, girl? Do I still have a chance with her?"

Hedwig tilted her head, her big amber eyes staring at him in consideration, and then she fluttered up onto his shoulder, giving his ear an affectionate nibble. Harry chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

Standing up, Harry stretched his arm out, so Hedwig could move further down. "Go on fly, Hedwig. I may be grounded right now, but not you."

Needing no further encouragement, Hedwig took off into the skies, but stayed within Harry's sight. He watched Hedwig's wings glide gracefully as she soared through the air. "You're all better now," he said pensively. "Maybe one day I'll be better too."

* * *

><p>Before Harry knew it, it was time for another D.A. meeting. This was something that filled him with anticipation, and yet a little apprehension.<p>

As he walked around the Room of Requirement watching everyone's progress, he quickened his steps as he went by Cho and her partner. For some reason Cho kept throwing glares in his direction. Then he slowly approached the Creevey brothers; he felt ashamed as Colin looked anxious as if he expected Harry to snap at him.

"Look, Colin," Harry said carefully. "I just wanted to apologize to you. That day you approached me, I was just having a bad day, but that's no excuse for snapping at you. So, I'm sorry."

Colin's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's okay, Harry! No harm done!"

"Oh, then," said Harry. He stayed a little longer to give Dennis a tip on his technique, and then he continued walking around. He only hoped he hadn't raised Colin's esteem in him _too _much.

Next he stopped by where Neville was practicing. He had never seen Neville like this; he was like a man possessed, and he knew why; Bellatrix, his parent's attacker had escaped from Azkaban. Harry understood how in these situations it was very uncomfortable to talk about things, so he just carefully patted Neville on the shoulder, getting it a squeeze. "You're doing brilliant, Neville!" he said. "Just remember to take a breather every once and awhile."

Neville paused, and then gave him a nod.

Harry kept walking around until he could no longer make the excuse that there was someone else that needed his help. The entire meeting he had been trying to avoid looking in the left corner, but he couldn't fight it any longer. He looked, and the creature within him snarled. Ginny was with Corner practicing, and he didn't like the way Corner was eyeing her. He walked up to them to amend this.

"Ginny, why don't you practice with me? I want to see how well your shield holds," Harry glanced over at Corner. "Corner, you can go practice with Neville."

Corner left, but not before glaring in Harry's direction.

"Am I doing something wrong, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, no, Ginny. I just wanted to test your shield, to find out its limit," he said, and then lowered his voice. "You're one of my best students." And this was true, whether he fancied her or not. Ginny was very talented, it was one of the many reasons why he fancied her.

Ginny's eyes widened at this, and then she smiled playfully at him. "Really? So, does that make me teacher's pet? Watch out, Harry, Hedwig might get jealous."

"Oh, she knows I can't resist a pretty bird," Harry said, blushing profusely with his eyes wide, once he realized what he had just said. _Did that just come out of his mouth?_

Once they got past the whole "teacher's pet" conversation, things went smoothly with their dueling; Ginny's shield held strong against Harry's jinxes, and Harry thought he wouldn't mind doing this for hours, but soon enough it was time for everyone to leave. There were only a couple of people left in the Room of Requirement when the last person Harry expected to approach him, called out his name, as he was picking up books that had fallen from jinxes hitting the shelves.

"Harry!" said Corner, walking up to him. "That was a pretty intense session today, huh? I bet you can't wait until the weekend comes. So, do you have any plans for this Hogsmeade visit?" he asked casually.

"Yeah, I do."

"Ginny told me that she was going to hang out with you this Hogsmeade trip, when I asked her what she was doing on that day."

"Yeah, she is."

"Hanging out…on Valentine's Day?"

Harry looked straight at Corner. "Yeah, we're hanging out _together_."

He knew he had gotten his message across as Corner's eyes slightly narrowed. "Oh, well I was hoping to _hang out_ with her, but I guess I'll do it some _other_ time."

As Corner walked towards the door, Hermione walked up looking back and forth between Corner and him. "So, what's going on?" she asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, Corner just had a question."

"No, I mean were you _flirting_ with Ginny, earlier? I overheard snips of your conversation."

Had he been flirting with Ginny? He didn't even know he knew how to flirt. "No, no I wasn't _flirting_…why would I flirt with Ginny? Why was _she_ flirting with me?" he added quickly.

"I think the real question here is why did you separate her from Michael?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"He was getting in the way of her potential," Harry said promptly. "She needed to duel with someone more on her level."

"Getting in the way of her potential," Hermione paused noticeably, "or getting in the way of Ginny and you?"

Harry shoved the last book into the shelf. "Here's no Ginny and I, Hermione."

"That doesn't mean you don't want it, Harry," Hermione said cunningly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, starting to get defensive.

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "Come on Harry, we both know, that _I_ know, that you fancy Ginny."

"_Ssssshhhh! Hermione!_" Harry exclaimed, whirling his head around to see if anyone was still there, especially Ron or the twins. No, they were the only ones left, thank goodness. He looked to Hermione, sighing in defeat. "Fine, you're right."

Hermione beamed, giving a girlish squeal. "I knew it! Oh, Harry this is perfect! You two are so well-suited for each other. To be honest, I was hoping you would get over Cho, she just wasn't—"

"Hermione, _please_!" Harry said, cringing. "Stop acting like such a….," he trailed off.

"A _girl_?" Hermione supplied.

"Um…yeah. Listen, Hermione I just don't feel like talking about it, right now. So, can we just drop it?"

Hermione stood clearly conflicted whether to just drop it, or to demand answers to all her questions. "Oh, well okay," she said reluctantly. "See you in the common room, Harry."

After Hermione left, Harry paced in the Room of Requirement, recalling his conversation with Corner. There wasn't going to be an "other" time, if Harry had anything to do with it. More than ever he wanted their date to be a success. He needed to give Ginny the perfect Valentine's date, so it would be clear to her how he felt about her, and hopefully she would feel the same. But _how?_ He turned towards the doors, half-tempted to go get Hermione back, when he almost stepped on a magazine lying on the floor. That was odd; he could have sworn there wasn't anything there before. He picked it up. It was the latest edition of _Witch Weekly_. He read the main headline:

**How to Have the Perfect Valentine's Day Date with Your Wizard**

How did….?

Harry's eyes widened.

_No_...

Did the room provide this for him?

Well, he _was_ in the Room of Requirement…

And he did _require_….

Harry groaned. Oh, this was just pathetic. First, Lockhart was giving him love advice, and now a _room_ was giving him love advice. He looked at the headline again. This was advice for _girls_ to have the perfect date with a bloke. But he was a _bloke_….err…well, he guessed this must be what girls expected on a date, if it was in a girl's magazine.

Sitting down on one of the cushions in the room, Harry double-checked to see if anyone was around, and then started flipping through the pages to the article. He paused for a second, when he saw a picture of himself. "_Bloody hell,"_ he mumbled. How did this happen? How did they get that picture of him?

He had won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award.

Quickly, he continued flipping through the pages and found the article.

**How to Have the Perfect Valentine's Day Date with Your Wizard**

**1. Dress for success. First, before the date even begins, pick out your outfit. Wear something you look your best in, something that makes you feel confident and comfortable. Your wizard will notice. **

**2. Compliment. Everyone likes to be admired. Remember to give your wizard compliments, from how that cloak looks great on him, to how you like the way he always cheers you up. **

**3. Eat chocolate. Who needs love potions, when chocolate gives off the natural feeling of being in love? Waiter, bring that chocolate cake over here!**

**4. Hold hands. Lace those fingers together. There's no better way for saying I'm yours, and you're mine. **

**5. Dinner for two. Pick a place that will set a romantic, cozy mood. You can never go wrong with an old-fashion candle-lit dinner.**

**6. Talk. This should be a no brainer, which your wizard will think you are, if you just stare at him. Show him you have a brain, and start some stimulating conversation. **

**7. Laugh. Have fun, you're on a date, not at a funeral. Enjoy the day!**

**8. Kiss. Need we say more? Cheek, lips, whatever! Pucker those lips! Your wizard agrees.**

**9. Be yourself. Finally and most importantly, remember they're on a date with you, because they like **_**you**_, **not someone you're pretending to be.**

"Harry?"

Harry jumped, crushing the magazine in between his hands.

A couple of feet in front of him was Ron, staring gobsmacked as he looked at the magazine and then Harry. "Are…are you _reading Witch Weekly_?"

Harry glanced nervously down at the crumpled magazine, and then back at Ron. "N-no," he said, giving an uneasy laugh. "I just needed… I just needed something to line Hedwig's cage with later on. What are you doing back here?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Looking for you," Ron shook his head, his lips curving, until he started laughing. "Blimey, Harry you were reading _Witch Weekly_! Why?"

Harry looked to the side, at the floor. "I…I needed advice."

"On what? Which shade of lipstick would go best with your broom?"

Harry clutched the crumpled magazine, making it crackle under the pressure. "_No_, I needed advice on what to do on a date."

"You have a date? With who?"

"_Your sister_."

Part of Harry, didn't know why he had just blurted that out to Ron, and then another part of him, just wanted to get the whole I-fancy-your-sister-and-now-your-going-to-beat-me-up thing over with. But mainly, it was because he didn't take too kindly at being laughed at, and being reminded that he no longer had his Firebolt, and wanted to wipe that smug look off Ron's face. That certainly did the trick, as Ron was now staring at him dumbstruck.

"What…my sister?" Ron stuttered out. "You're taking her on another one of those play dates?"

"No, a real one."

"WHAT?"

Ron marched up to him, his tall frame towering over Harry as he sat on the floor, looking up at Ron's purple face. "Listen, you're my best mate, but that's my sister! I thought I told you not to lead her on. You're just going to hurt her!"

"I'm not going to hurt her….I like her."

"Well, I thought you liked her too, but obviously not if you're going to lead her—"

Harry rolled his eyes, which probably wasn't the wisest thing to do right now. "No, Ron! I _like_ her! As in I _fancy_ her!"

Ron's mouth froze open, and then he shook his head. "Say that again?"

"I fancy Ginny, Ron."

Strangely enough, it was easier to confess this to Ron, than to Ginny. But then again, Ron didn't have the power to reject him and crush his heart with mere words.

"You said you _didn't_ like Ginny in that way. Were you lying to me?" Ron demanded.

"No, I wasn't lying! I didn't have those sorts of feelings for her back then…but now I," Harry fiddled with his glasses, his cheeks growing warm, "now I…um…Ginny is…um…"

Ron suddenly sat down on one of the cushion, all the colour draining from his face. "_Bloody hell_." He sat there for a while, with his hand buried in his hair, mumbling stuff to himself. Then he looked to Harry. "Can you go back to not fancying her?"

Harry just stared at him with a pointed look, and then sighed in exasperation. "No, Ron. And even if I could, I don't think I'd want to."

Ron shoulders slumped forward. "Okay."

"Okay?" asked Harry. "So, you're really okay with this?"

"It's not like I have a choice. If Ginny ever found out that you fancy her, and that I had told you to stay away from her…," Ron shuddered, with a petrified look in his eyes. "Anyway, I do trust you, Harry; just don't do anything that would make me want to lock you in a closet with Umbridge."

Somehow, that was more frightening than all the Weasley brothers put together. "Got it."

* * *

><p>For several days, Harry was conflicted over whether he wanted the days to speed up or slow down. Now that it was Valentine's Day, Harry was just plain conflicted, and his bed reflected this. Spewed out all across his sheets, were items of clothing that had been tried on, discarded, and then retried again. He didn't know what to wear. He only had a few good clothes that people had given him, his Weasley jumpers, Quidditch uniforms, school uniforms, and the rest was Dudley's hand-me-downs. Finally, deciding on his new Weasley jumper, Harry put in on while mumbling, "confident and comfortable, yeah right." Looking at himself, he did feel comfortable in his jumper, jeans, and trainers, but he was nowhere near confident. Did he look attractive? He didn't know, frankly he thought he looked awkward, and his hair wouldn't stay down. Would Ginny find him handsome?<p>

**Dress for success. Results: Feeling comfortable, but still not quite there. Grade: P**

Harry headed down to the Great hall for breakfast to find Ron already there stuffing food into his mouth, and Hermione trying to tug a letter from the beak of a brown owl. He had barely sat down when Hermione asked him if he would meet her in the Three Broomsticks around midday.

Harry paused before answering. He had really wanted to spend the whole day with Ginny, but if he ended up making a fool of himself, maybe he could get some reinforcement by meeting with Hermione. "All right, but can Ginny come too?"

"Yes, she can come," said Hermione, getting up from her seat.

"Wait…why do you want to meet?"

"I can't explain right now, I have to answer this!"

Harry watched Hermione's retreating form, and then looked about the Great Hall to see if Ginny was there. When he didn't spot her, he quickly picked up a spoon, to look at his reflection, and make some final adjustments to his hair.

Ron let out a groan beside him. "Merlin's beard, you're primping for my sister, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not for you—don't look at me like that—I just want to look decent."

"Have you forgotten how my sister dedicated a poem to your blackboard hair, and fresh pickled toad eyes?"

"No, I haven't forgotten." In fact, Harry often thought about that poem when he felt like his chances with Ginny were hopeless. "But it's been years…"

Ron shook his head. "I'll never get used to this."

* * *

><p>After finding out that Ron wouldn't be coming to Hogsmeade because of Angelina's training, Harry headed towards the entrance hall to see if Ginny was there waiting for him. She wasn't there, so he waited, and while he was, he couldn't help but overhear some of the girls nearby—<p>

"Oh, I hope Justin takes me to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop!"  
>"Me too! I'll just die if Ben doesn't take me there! It's the most romantic place. It just wouldn't be a date, if we didn't go there."<br>"Did you hear? She decorated it for Valentine's Day!"

Harry started to get worried as the entrance hall emptied out, with only a few people left needing to sign out. Where was she? Was she sick or…wait—Ginny was the Seeker. Did that mean she had to miss Hogsmeade too for Angelina's training session? _Bugger_, why didn't anything ever go right for him? He felt a little hurt that Ginny hadn't even bothered to tell him that she couldn't make it, but mostly he just wanted to kick something, _hard_.

"Harry! I'm so sorry, I'm late—"

Harry looked up at the sound of Ginny's voice. "_You're here._"

Ginny faltered in her steps. "Yeah, uh, why do you sound surprised? Did you change your mind?"

"No!" Harry said, a little too loudly. He quickly lowered his voice. "I…no, I just thought you'd have to go to Angelina's training like Ron."

"Oh, I made a deal with her. So I got out of it," said Ginny.

Harry nodded, vaguely curious how she got out of it. Once the relief that she hadn't stood him up washed over him, Harry's nerves quickly settled in, chiseling themselves into his thought and actions. He gulped as he began to feel his hands sweat. _Compliment her! You need to compliment her! _He looked her over. Ginny had her hair down, sleek but with a wave at the ends. She was wearing a green jumper with a gray jacket, some light Muggle jeans that highlighted the curves of her legs, and a pair of black flats. Harry really wished he hadn't looked so closely, it made things worse.

"You…you look great," Harry managed to get out.

**Compliment. Results: Err…well, it's a compliment. But you could do better. Grade: A**

Ginny looked down at herself, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Thanks, you look nice as well. Mum's jumpers always look good on you.

Note to self: Wear Mrs. Weasley's jumpers as often as possible.

After signing out, Harry and Ginny stepped outside, and soon fell in tune with each other's footsteps. Harry stared down at his shoes, scuffing through the dirt and grass, and then he glanced at Ginny. With each step, he subtly inched his body closer to hers. The breeze picked up tousling Ginny's hair, sending its sweet aroma towards him, and that's when their shoulders bumped. Ginny turned her head, her eyes widening at their proximity, but she didn't step away, and that to Harry was a beacon of hope.

As they entered Hogsmeade, Harry's hand twitched at his side, his eyes darting towards Ginny's hand. It would be so easy just to extend his finger, interlock it with hers, and bring their hands together. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself _wanting_ it. He wanted to feel the palm of her hand nestled against his. It was hard to explain, but it almost felt like his urge to reach out and take the Snitch, to feel its beating wings. But just as he started to extend his finger, Ginny stepped away walking towards a shop.

Sulking for a moment in his failed attempt, Harry walked over next to Ginny to find her staring at the poster on the shop window of the ten Death Eaters that had escaped. He could see the hand he had been trying to take, form into a fist at her side.

"It's terrible that they're blaming Snuffles for this," said Ginny.

Harry huffed, his eyes roaming over all the pictures. "It just isn't right."

"Oh, but Fudge will never admit that he's wrong, not at least until hundreds of people die, and maybe not even then," Ginny sighed, looking frustrated. "I can't stand people like him." She glanced towards Harry. "I'm glad there's people like you, Harry."

Harry felt his breath hitch as he looked back at her. "I'm glad there's people like you too, Ginny."

The moment was broken as it started to rain, and cold drops of water started hitting their faces and the back of their necks. Swiftly, they darted over to the nearest shelter, which was Honeydukes. Huddling side by side they stood against the building, as the rain cascaded down the shingles of the roof.

"Do you want to go in?" Harry said, over the rapping of the rain against the pavement. "We could maybe get some chocolate or something."

Ginny glanced towards the door, shaking her head. "No, it looks too crowded in there. Besides, chocolate is kind of expensive, especially today."

**Eat Chocolate. Results: Perhaps you might consider that love potion? Grade: T**

Harry exhaled, looking at the door to see that Ginny was right. He could see people all the way up against the door. "Do you want to get something to drink then?" he asked hopefully. "We could go to Madam Puddifoot's."

Ginny did a double-take at him, as if he had just told her he was secretly Draco Malfoy. "You _like_ that place?"

Harry shrunk back, suddenly losing all the confidence he had managed to gather. "No, I…I mean, I don't know," he stuttered out. "I've never been there. But I heard that girls like that…I mean if _you_ like it, we could go."

Ginny tightened her lips together in a repulsed frown. "Um, I'd rather not."

**Dinner for two. Results: It's not looking so good, is it? Grade: T**

Harry leaned his weight against the cold bricks of the building, looking out solemnly at the students dashing through the rain towards the shops; he turned his head when the Honeydukes' door opened, as a smiling couple holding hands exited clutching sweets with their other hands. What this it then? Did Ginny not want to go to Madam Puddifoot's, because she didn't want this to be a real date? Was she repulsed by the thought that he was trying to go past the boundaries of friendship?

"Harry? Are you all right?" asked Ginny tentatively.

Harry just nodded.

"Let's make a run for the Three Broomsticks, okay?"

And so they sprinted through the rain-splattered street and soon found themselves at the doorway of the Three Broomsticks. Once inside, Harry shook his wet hair, while Ginny slightly wrung out her hair beside him, and then they took a seat at a booth; oddly enough it was the same one they had sat at during their first "date." Looking around, Harry noticed that it wasn't as crowded as it usually was; there were groups of younger students, a couple of people drinking alone, and then there were a few couples, giggling and holding hands across the table. Most the couples, people on _dates_, were probably at Madam Puddifoot's, he thought bitterly.

* * *

><p>Ginny sat across from Harry in a bit of a conundrum. She didn't understand what was going on with him. He had seemed downright crushed that she didn't want to go to Madam Puddifoots, but that couldn't be right. She didn't know any bloke that actually <em>wanted<em> to go there. Honestly, no bloke would set foot in that tea shop, if it wasn't for the promise of a good snog. And now Harry was glaring around the room, like he didn't even want to be here. Had she done something to upset him?

Madam Rosmerta came over to their table carrying a tea light candle in a small round candleholder, setting it down in the center of the table. "I thought you dearies would like some candlelight for your date," she said smiling. "Now what can I get for you?"

Ginny squirmed in her seat at Madam Rosmerta's continued assumption, expecting Harry to correct her at any moment, but instead he suddenly perked up and said, "Thanks!" Ginny's mouth dropped open. Thanks? _Thanks! _Not, "Oh, we're not on a date," or "we're just friends," but "_Thanks?"_

It was then she noticed both Harry and Madam Rosmerta looking at her, that she realized it was her turn to order something. "Oh, I…I'll just have a butterbeer, thanks."

Once Madam Rosmerta left to go fill their orders, Harry turned to her and said, "You're…you're much prettier."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're much prettier than Madam Rosmerta."

Ginny bit her lip, not knowing what to say for a moment. "Um…thank you? Harry, I'm going to go use the loo, for a sec." Scooting out of the booth, Ginny walked towards the loo, but paused to glance back at Harry. She didn't expect him to be staring at her; she watched as his eyes went wide and he quickly looked down at the table, blushing. Now that's something she never thought she'd see.

In the loo, Ginny washed her hands, and then started combing her fingers through her hair, to straighten it out. Harry was acting a bit odd. Why had he made that comment about Madam Rosemerta being less attractive than her? She tried to think about everything that had happened since the beginning of the outing. Harry for some reason had been walking closely to her on their way to Hogsmeade, he had wanted to buy some chocolate, and he had wanted to go to Madam Puddifoot's with her. Also, his mannerisms, now that she really thought about it, his mannerisms were almost like how he would act around Cho Chang. So, closeness, chocolate, Madam Puddifoot's, and Cho Chang induced mannerisms. The only thing she could think of that they all shared was that they all had to do with romance. Harry was acting like this was a…real date.

As Ginny stared at her reflection in the mirror over the sink, her eyes widened with a dawning realization. _This is a real date!_ But, no that would mean Harry _liked _her.

Gripping the sides of the sink, Ginny tried not to stumble over from the shock. Was it a date, or was she just building it all up in her head? No, don't do this to yourself, Ginevra! Get a hold of yourself; we've already been over this. You were going to go to Hogsmeade with Harry with no expectations of romance.

But, what if Harry's expectations had changed? She had noticed Harry acting differently around her, but she had never stopped to hope that he might feel something towards her. Ginny exhaled, pushing back her hair. She had to make sure before she jumped to any conclusions. Exiting the loo, Ginny was caught in between the fluttering feeling that Harry might fancy her, and the dousing feeling that she might be misunderstanding him. It felt like she had drenched butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

"Sorry, I took so—" Ginny trailed off, once she saw what was on their table. Two butterbeers, and a huge piece of chocolate cake on a single plate with two forks. When had Harry ordered that?

"That's okay," Harry said, as she scooted back into the booth. He picked up his fork, gesturing towards the other fork. "Dig in."

Picking up the fork, Ginny fiddled with it, before sinking it into the cake, while Harry did the same.

"You must have really wanted chocolate," Ginny said, sticking her bit of cake into her mouth. She softly smiled as the moist, richness of the cake and icing melted into her mouth.

Harry chewed slowly, and then gulped. "Well….yeah," he said lamely. "So…," he paused, his eyebrows creasing as he seemed to thinking of what to say, "how have you been, Ginny?"

Ginny chewed on another bit of cake, before answering. "How have I been? I've been doing well. Just been working on my Quidditch moves, going to class, and working on the techniques you've been showing us."

"Yes, I've noticed that when I see you at the meetings with _Corner_," Harry said, absentmindedly tapping his fork against the table. "He came up to me after the last meeting. Told me that he had asked you what you were going to do today."

"Michael? Oh, yeah he did. I think he was going to ask me to Hogsmeade."

"You could have broken our date, if you really wanted to come here with him," Harry said, lifting his fork up to take a huge chuck of cake. "I…I would have understood."

"But I didn't want to break it; I wanted to…," Ginny's voice faltered, "be here with you."

Harry just stared at her as he chewed, and then slowly a wide grin came across his face, teeth and all.

Ginny laughed, quickly putting her hand over her mouth, as she gave a little snort. "Oh, I'm sorry…it's just you have a bit of chocolate cake on your teeth."

Blushing, Harry snatched a napkin, wiping at his mouth. "So, are you having a good time?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I am," Ginny said, smiling as she gave into the happiness for a moment of just sitting across from a wonderful boy on the most romantic day of the year. "I mean, I don't truly know how it is for blokes. But for girls, Valentine's Day is a nightmare. At least if you're single. There's so much _emphasis_ on having someone…," Ginny trailed off. "Sorry, didn't mean to say all that."

Harry's mouth lifted up into a little smile, and then it disappeared as he stared soberly at his half-full butterbeer. "Most of my Valentines' consisted of watching Dudley stuff himself with boxes of chocolate, and then when I entered Hogwarts it was just another day. The only time I really noticed that it was Valentine's Day is when Lockhart was teaching."

"Harry?"

Harry lifted his gaze to her. "Yeah?"

Ginny's lips quivered as she tried to keep her laugher in check. "Did…did you really get love advice from Lockhart?"

"No! Well…sort of…unwillingly, when—" Harry paused, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "he noticed that I was thinking about a girl."

"Cho or…. What was it? Ginger?"

"Neither," Harry stated. After that, he didn't talk for a couple of minutes. Ginny took a drink of her butterbeer, and then placed it back on the table. "You know, my most memorable Valentine's Day was when I got a Valentine from a singing dwarf."

Ginny groaned, shutting her eyes painfully. "Oh,don't remind me of that. Regrettably, yes I did write it, but I didn't send it to you, someone else did that…or more like two gits."

"It wasn't that bad…" Harry said politely. Ginny opened her eyes, giving him a look. "Okay, it was bad." They both busted out laughing, their eyes watering in mirth. "I wanted…wanted to disappear when…when that dwarf held me down by the ankles," Harry choked out through his laugher, while he bent over clutching onto the edge of the table.

"You wanted to disappear?" exclaimed Ginny, holding onto her sides. "_I_ wanted to disappear, change my name, and never come back!"

"We…we should put both memories in a Pensieve one day, and compare notes," Harry said, making them go into a new fit of laugher.

Finally, after a couple of stray giggles, they calmed down, trying to catch their breath. "Oh, now my sides hurt," Ginny said lightheartedly.

Harry took a deep breath, smiling. "But, honestly, Ginny, it's better than anything I could have written up."

Ginny leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms. "Okay then, let's hear it."

"Uh, hear what?"

"You said you couldn't do any better. Prove it, recite something."

Harry chuckled lightly, and then slowly raised his eyebrows. "You're…serious? Um…okay then, but I'm not singing it. Let's see…," Harry paused for a considerable amount of time. His eyes darted around, looking at the half eaten cake, the different tables, the door, and then at her. "Her eyes are as brown as chocolate frogs, hair is as red as…err…lollipops, I wish she was mine, she really fine, the girl I hope to be my Valentine."

Ginny shyly smiled, soaking in the moment. She couldn't actually believe that he had even attempted to recite something to her. She had half expected him to just flat-out refuse to say anything. The poem he had made up was quite simple like hers had been, but it was sweet none the less, even though he didn't really mean all that.

"Okay, I believe you. You're no poet," said Ginny.

"I meant it, you know."

"Meant what?"

Harry breathed deeply through his nose, his eyes staring down at the table. "About wishing you were mine."

Ginny would have gasped, if it wasn't for the fact that she felt like someone had knocked all the air out of her. Against her chest, her heart gave a big _thump. _All she could do was sit there, not feeling in control of her own body.

"Ginny….I…," Harry sharply exhaled, going quiet.

"This isn't a play date, is it?" she said faintly.

"No."

"_Oh," _she said, her mind fanatic with thoughts, and yet blank at the same time. "But…but you said you didn't feel that way about me."

"I was wrong," Harry said, leaning back into the cushion of his seat, and running his hand through his hair. "_Bugger_...I'm rubbish at this," he paused, starting over again. "I like Ginevra, and I don't mean just the name. I like you, Ginny…_a lot_. I think the only reason I didn't realize it sooner, is because I didn't try to get to know you. I've been a real prat, I wouldn't blame you if you just walked out of here. But I have to know, do I still have a chance? Do…do you still fancy me?" he finished, his eyes lingering on her anxiously.

It was then that Ginny said the only thing she could ever say to a question like that, asked by him.

"_Yes_."

Across from her, Harry stared at her blankly, and then his lips began to twitch upward, until his mouth broke out into the most glorious smile, that crinkled up his eyes, as they stared back at her with drunken, uninhibited happiness.

Ginny found herself smiling back just as passionately, her mouth aching from the intenseness of her smile. But she couldn't help it, her whole being seemed to be erupting with an endless surge of joy. She was quite sure they both looked like idiots smiling like that, but she really didn't care.

Neither of them spoke for a while, until Harry started laughing. "Oh…Oh…_wow_," he breathed. "I thought for sure you were going to reject me."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't want to go to Madam Puddifoot's with me." Her confusion must have shown on her face, since Harry explained further. "I thought you didn't want to go there, because you didn't want this to be a real date. I mean, all the girls were talking about wanting to go there for their date."

"No, I just didn't fancy the thought of watching people suck each other's faces off."

"Um…what?"

"Harry, that place is a snogfest. Plus, I hear that on Valentine's Day, Madam Puddifoot has golden cherubs flying around, throwing confetti in your face." Ginny watched as Harry blanched. "But we could still go there if you want."

Harry waved his hands in front of him. "No…no…I'm good. Knowing my luck, the cherub would probably end up holding me down by the ankles too."

Ginny giggled, relishing in what had to be by far the happiness moment of her life. It was all very overwhelming; the happiness she felt was like a dream that had yet to become something tangible, that the fear still lingered, that if she reached out to grab it, it would disappear. She shivered at such a thought.

"Are you cold?" Harry asked, his eyes softened with concern.

Before Ginny could even answer him, Harry scooted out of his side, swinging around the table to sit next to her. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulder, resting his hand against her arm, while he rubbed it up and down to create heat. Though it was blatantly unnecessary, since the mere fact that his arm was around her, and his side was pressed up against hers instantly warmed her up.

"Is that better?"

Feebly, she turned her head, raising her eyes to him, giving a nod. As she stared back at him, she noticed his hand starting to slow down in its momentum, until it became a lazy, absentminded caress. She watched as Harry's cheeks turned slightly pink, and his eyes darken as they flickered from her eyes to her lips.

_Holy Harpies! He was going to kiss her! _And that wasn't an assumption in anyway. She knew he was, as his eyes became slightly unfocused, his eyelids slowly lowering, as his head did the same, drawing closer to her face. Ginny's breath quicken with the rapid pounding of her heart, as it thrived off the sole anticipation of his lips touching hers. She was just beginning to give into the heaviness of her eyelids, when suddenly she saw something over Harry's shoulder. "Hagrid?"

Harry jerked back, his eyes wide, and his face slightly green. "_H-Hagrid?" _he croaked out.

Oh, if she was a house-elf she would be slamming her head into the table right now. She quickly nodded over in the direction of Hagrid, before Harry got any ideas of her secretly fancying Hagrid. "Look, he's over there… He doesn't look so good."

Hagrid was sitting alone in a corner, staring into his pewter tankard as if it was a Pensieve that held a particularly depressing memory. His face wasn't a pretty picture as well, all cut up and bruised. Harry and Ginny glanced at one another, making an unspoken agreement to go see what was wrong. They may have been on a date, but Hagrid was their friend.

Pulling up a couple of chairs to Hagrid's table, they sat down; it took a moment for Hagrid to realize he had company. Though, their company didn't do much to lift his spirits. Hagrid then for some reason started talking about how both he and Harry were both orphans, and how having a decent family made a difference.

"Yeah…I guess," said Harry, glancing at Ginny with his eyebrows raised. It was clear to her he was saying, "Do you know what's going on with him? Because I sure don't." Ginny just lightly shrugged her shoulders.

It was when Hagrid made the comment about family, and blood being important, that Ginny's temper wouldn't allow her not to say anything. She couldn't take him being so down on himself.

"Blood or no blood, that's not what makes someone family. Family are people who care about one another, and like I've said before, you have lots of people that care about you, Hagrid. Both of you do," she said, reaching for Harry's hand underneath the table. Harry straightened up in his chair at her touch, darting his eyes down to look at their hands; he glanced at her, and then a happy little smile formed on his lips, as his hand relaxed, intertwining with hers. "So neither of you are orphans, not really."

Hagrid must have come out of his depression for a moment, as he seemed to take notice of their odd little nonverbal exchange. "Somethin' goin' on between yeh two?"

"We're on a _date_, Hagrid. Aren't we, Ginny?" Harry added shyly.

Ginny couldn't help but feel happy, at the way Harry had announced their date, as if he was breaking the news to a favorite uncle of his. He also seemed still unsure if they were on an actual date. "Yes, we are, Harry."

Hagrid looked genuinely happy for them, as he gave a little smile, or at least tried to. But it only lasted so long, and disappeared as he drained his tankard. "At leas' somethin' is goin' righ'."

"What _isn't_ going right? Is it what's giving you all these injuries?" Harry said bluntly.

But of course, Hagrid just denied it all, and with a quick goodbye, he exited the Three Broomsticks leaving Harry and Ginny alone with his empty tankard. "He's acting strange, isn't he, Ginny?" said Harry.

"Yes, I hope it isn't something too serious. But then again, how couldn't it be with all those injuries he keeps getting?" said Ginny.

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know."

"I'm half-tempted to just—" Ginny started saying, when Harry suddenly pulled on their joined hands, dragging her out of her chair, and over behind the staircase. "Harry, what the—"

"_Rita Skeeter_," Harry hissed.

Ginny whirled around, leaning her head to the side to see past the staircase. "That horrid woman that wrote all those outrageous stories about you in your fourth year?"

Harry nodded, his eyes narrowing. "What is she doing here?"

Ginny didn't know much about Rita Skeeter, she had only seen glimpses of her during her third year, but she would recognize those bejeweled winged glasses anywhere. She tried to see past the crowd of people that had entered the Three Broomsticks, when she noticed that Hermione was nearby where Rita Skeeter was… and also Luna? In fact, they all seemed to be heading in the same direction.

"Err…Harry, I think she's here with Hermione and Luna?"

Harry laughed. "Oh, that's funny, Ginny."

"I'm not joking."

"Come on, Ginny, do you seriously think Hermione would ever sit with…," Harry trailed off, his mouth gapping as he watched Rita Skeeter, Hermione, and Luna sit at a table _together._ "W-what is Hermione doing? Wait a minute…. I almost forgot," he groaned. "Is _this_ why she wanted to meet?"

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"Hermione, she wanted me to meet her here, but she never told me why. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come along, but I…," he trailed off, mumbling the rest, "got a bit preoccupied."

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "Well, okay. Let's go."

"We could just stay here…," Harry grumbled, not moving, until he sighed looking thoroughly annoyed as he started talking to himself. "Hermione's never going to let me hear the end of it, if I don't go over there." He lightly squeezed her hand "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

><p>"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione greeted them once they approached the table.<p>

"_Ginny_?" said Rita, twisting around in her chair to look at Ginny, her eyes sizing her up. Ginny felt like a bug underneath a…. What were those things called that Muggles looked into to make small things bigger? Rita's eyes particularly gleamed once she saw their clasped hands. "Well, well…you've been a busy boy, Harry."

"It's none of your business if Harry's been with a hundred girls, so don't even think about it," Hermione said coldly, as Rita tried to get a quill out of her handbag.

"I haven't been with a _hundred_ girls!" Harry choked out, and then turned to Ginny to repeat it to her directly. "I haven't been with a hundred girls."

"I believe you, Harry," said Ginny, finding him adorable. Oh, she knew very well that Harry was quite a catch, but he was in no way a serial dater. Look how long it took him to tell Cho he liked her. Err…_Cho Chang_… It didn't do her any good to think about the Ravenclaw Seeker.

"Good kisser, is she, Harry?" pried Rita.

Harry, who had just sat down, sunk down into his seat turning red.

Ginny glared from her seat. "Sod off."

"Oh, feisty, is she?" said Rita, with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, yes," said Luna dreamily, while stirring her gillywater with a cocktail onion on a stick, "she's also brave, kind, mischievous, athletic, and right now looks like she wants to Bat-Bogey hex you." She paused in her stirring to look at Harry and Ginny with her dazed eyes. "How is your play date going?"

"_Play date!"_ Rita barked out.

Harry quickly corrected her, his face still quite red. "No, Luna we're on a _real_ date."

"Oh, how lovely," said Luna, lightly clapping her hands together. "So, you fancy Ginny? It doesn't surprise me that it took you this long to realize it. It usually does for the male of any species. Why it takes a Double-Headed Loaflare nine years to find their mate, and they're physically conjoined."

Rita leaned over the table listening keenly in excitement and bewilderment.

"Not helping, Luna," Hermione hissed. "Now, if we could get back to the subject at hand."

Ginny sat at the table, just listening and observing as Hermione laid out her proposal for Rita to publish Harry's side of the story in _The Quibbler_. She didn't really feel like it was her place to say anything—although, she wouldn't hesitate to Bat-Bogey hex Rita if she made another jab at Harry. This was Harry's moment, his moment to have someone listen to what he had to say, after all the years of people telling him to shut up, calling him a liar, or just locking him away in a cupboard. Occasionally, during the interview Harry would glance in her direction, and Ginny would give him an encouraging smile. She felt so proud of him, and touched that she could be there to support him.

Sometime later, Harry and Ginny stood inside the doorway of the Three Broomsticks looking out into the downpour outside. There were people outside huddled under umbrellas, some had their coats pulled up over their heads as they made a mad dash, and others trying to walk closely to the bare shelter the rooftops of the shops provided.

Harry glanced around, and then looked over his shoulder into the Three Broomsticks. "I guess we could borrow an umbrella, or—"

Ginny didn't stick around to hear the rest, as she gave into her impulse and stepped out into the center of the rain. It didn't take long for her clothes and hair to become drenched. She pushed her hair back as it started clinging to her face, and then began spinning around, giving a shout.

"W-What are you doing?" Harry yelled from the doorway.

"Playing in the rain," said Ginny, gesturing for him to come out. "Come on, Harry we're going to get soaked either way, we might as well enjoy it."

For several seconds, Harry didn't move; he just stared at her from the shelter of the doorway. She thought he was going to leave her hanging for a moment, until this determined look came into his eyes. "Sod it!" he said, and then before she knew it, he was standing out in the rain with her, his arms loosely wrapped around her damp waist, and his head leaning forward towards her lips.

She had always thought when watching those romantic Muggle movies that it was a bit stupid of them to be kissing in the rain. How could it be romantic to kiss, when there were droplets of rain hitting your face? After all, they must be freezing, and it looked uncomfortable with them being all wet. She took that all back now.

It was cold with the rain drizzling down her face, but that really was an afterthought when it came to the heat she felt as Harry's lips touched hers. Tentatively, Harry moved his lips against hers, causing her eyes to flutter close. As she began to caress his lips back, she felt Harry's grip around her waist tighten, bringing her closer. Inside, she was tingling with a warm, knee-weakening, exhilarating sensation, and then Harry pressed his lips more firmly against hers, and her heart went soaring. Grabbing onto the back of his soaked hair, she kissed him back just has passionately.

Slowly, they pulled apart resting their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes as droplets of water trailed down their faces. Ginny watched as Harry caught his breath, with his fringe glued to his skin, his glasses splattered and droplets of water falling into his mouth. Then his eyes lit up, and he smiled, as he started laughing in utter bliss. She quickly joined him.

Some people began staring at them, as they started splashing each other, and shrieking out loud with laugher. But as Harry took her hand, spinning her around and holding her close as they danced in the rain, she really didn't care. Things wouldn't always be perfect, and she knew many things would come raining down on them, trying to bring them down, especially with all the pain, fear, and idiocy surrounding them. But she would try to enjoy life through the downpours, because this was their moment, and there would be more moments to come.


End file.
